Tag: Joey Chestnut

Joey Chestnut ate nearly 18,000 calories worth of hot dogs in 10 minutes

Needless to say, six dozen hot dogs is not part of a balanced daily diet.

After a long delay, then a frustrating cancellation and surprising un-cancellation, Joey Chestnut retained his mustard yellow belt by winning the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. But the stormy weather and whiplash of storm-related uncertainty clearly took its toll on competitive eating’s G.O.A.T. Instead of firing down 10 days worth of calories in 10 minutes, Chestnut’s 62 hot dogs — his lowest mark since 2015 when he was dethroned by Matt Stonie — only made up nine days of his recommended caloric intake.

That’s right, in front of a reduced crowd, Chestnut scarfed down at least 17,920 calories, per Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs’ official nutritional information and assuming the dogs consumed at the greatest eating throwdown in the universe are the company’s smallest offering. Here’s the breakdown of exactly what he put in his body — and the daily percentage of what he’s supposed to put in there based on the FDA’s guidelines for a 2,000-calorie diet, where available.

Calories: 17,920 (896 percent of daily recommended value)
Sodium: 48,980 mg (20,408 percent)
Total Fat: 1,116 g (17,169 percent)
Saturated fat: 372 g (18,600 percent)
Trans fat: 62 g (28,182 percent)
Total Carbs: 1,490 g (4,960 percent)
Dietary Fiber: 62 g (248 percent)
Sugars: 124 g
Protein: 620 g
Cholesterol: 1,860 mg

So yeah, probably not great for his body. But healthier than the 72 dogs he put down in 2017, so it’s possible he’s feeling a little bit better tonight than he typically does after a long day at Coney Island.

Here’s every winner of the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest since 2000

A look back at every winner of the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating contest over the last 20 years.

Editor’s note: This story was originally published in 2021 and has been updated.

With the Fourth of July comes everyone’s favorite guilty pleasure: the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, an annual tradition featuring the art of consuming an absurd amount of processed meat in a short amount of time.

The competition rose to notoriety through the likes of Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi, who have each won the event multiple times.

For this year’s contest, Chestnut was not only the odds-on favorite to win his eighth consecutive and 15th victory in the last 16 years, but rarely does he face an actual contender looking to dethrone the reigning champion.

With that in mind, we’re taking a look back at every winner of the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest since 2000, both men and women.

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Mother Nature, not Joey Chestnut, won the 2023 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest

This may be devastating to Pepto Bismol’s stock price.

UPDATE: Because of the inclement weather, the 2023 men’s Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest was canceled, per ABC7 in New York. However, not long after the reported cancellation, ESPN announced that the contest was back on after a lengthy delay.

In the midst of a pandemic and the live sports desert that followed, the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest offered a glimmer of hope. The Fourth of July staple, broadcast annually from Coney Island, shifted indoors for a socially distanced version of the competition as COVID-19 changed lives across the world.

Joey Chestnut did what Joey Chestnut does, eating a truly ludicrous amount of pork and bread and celebrating America in an extremely American way.

But on Tuesday three years later, the weather in New York did what a global pandemic could not: It canceled the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, which won’t be held on Independence Day for the first time since 1978. In the end, Mother Nature won.

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While the cancellation doesn’t leave much competitive intrigue — Chestnut has effectively lapped his rivals in general and Miki Sudo claimed the women’s belt minutes before the weather stoppage — it’s still a bummer. Across the country, a pre-cookout tradition involves watching dedicated men and women house hot dogs, watching 15 minutes of pro cornhole or slippery stairs or whatever else ESPN2 has planned for the day and then heading out to celebrate the nation with friends and family.

In 2023, raging thunderstorms instead forced the world to watch the ESPYs nomination show; the network’s answer to, “Is there anything more pointless and boring than the ESPYs?” After an hour-long delay, the New York Police Department reportedly pulled the plug on the event in the name of public safety.

So, in summation, dang. The Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest has woven itself into the fabric of the Fourth of July. It’s an entertaining rest stop on a day-long journey of cookouts, pool time and fireworks. But nature cut a four-decade tradition off with torrential downpours and lightning that made the whole event even more of a safety hazard than it already was (for contestants, at least).

On the plus side, we know when the next contest will be; 366 days from now.

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Why Kobayashi no longer competes in the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest

Kobayashi hasn’t competed in the annual Fourth of July contest since 2009.

NOTE: This post is from 2022.

Once a staple of the annual Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest — from his record-setting debut in 2001 until his final competition over a decade ago —  Takeru Kobayashi has since faded from the consciousness of fans of the event (or people who watch because what else is on TV?).

It’s easy to assume that someone who has held over a dozen competitive eating records and once won the Nathan’s contest six consecutive times simply got tired of shoving damp buns and franks down his throat and that’s why he hasn’t participated for so long. But his absence from the contest since 2010 is actually a lot deeper.

According to a New York Times report, Kobayashi had a dispute with Major League Eating (MLE), the sanctioning body of the Nathan’s Famous contest and others, over the exclusivity of its contracts. They reportedly restricted MLE signees from earning money outside of MLE and competing in non-MLE events, and gave MLE “exclusive representative” rights to negotiate revenue opportunities — of which it would earn 20% — on behalf of its performers.

Kobayashi’s refusal to sign the contract in 2010 resulted in his not being able to participate in MLE contests, including the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July contest.

That didn’t stop him from showing up as a spectator in 2010, but that’s when things really got real. Apparently spurred by chants from those in attendance, Kobayashi jumped on stage, hoping officials would allow him to compete. Instead he was arrested, never to take a Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest stage again.

So there you have it. That’s why you haven’t seen or heard from Kobayashi for so long and probably shouldn’t expect to see him this Fourth of July. But hey, at least there’s still current world record holder Joey Chestnut to look forward to making you gag.

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12 ridiculous photos of Joey Chestnut jamming hot dogs into his face over the years

What an athlete.

NOTE: This post is from 2022.

Nothing says the 4th of July like watching a bunch of people jamming hot dogs into their mouths in front of thousands of screaming fans, am I right?

I’m talking, of course, about the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest which takes place every year on the Coney Island boardwalk in Brooklyn, New York.

And you can’t talk about this hot dog eating contest without bringing up the GOAT – Joey Chestnut. This legend is the favorite to win his 7th straight title on Monday. It would also be this 14th win in the last 15 years.

Let’s take a look back at some incredible photos of this incredible athlete in action.

52 Major League Eating records that belong to Joey Chestnut

Hot dogs aren’t Joey Chestnut’s only specialty.

There are few traditions more American than the equal parts fascinating and disgusting art of competitive eating.

And when it comes to competitive eating, there’s one undisputed king: Joey Chestnut.

Chestnut is best known for dominating the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, which is held on July 4 at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. He’s won the men’s title 15 times, which includes every year since 2007 except for 2015 when he was upset by Matt Stonie.

But Chestnut’s record-setting eating includes more than just hot dogs. Ahead of the latest installment of the contest, here’s a rundown of all the Major League Eating world records held by Chestnut.

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Joey Chestnut bettors are getting refunds after his altercation with protester in hot dog eating contest

Chestnut finished well under the 74.5 line.

First of all, if you bet on competitive eating, seek help.

With that out of the way, if you did put a little action on this year’s Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest and you took Joey Chestnut’s over at 74.5, a different type of help is on the way.

Some sportsbooks are issuing refunds to over bettors due to the protester who rushed the stage and was subsequently roughed up by Chestnut. The assumption here is that the interaction, albeit brief, potentially impacted the results.

FanDuel and DraftKings are two of the sportsbooks to have announced refunds on Tuesday.

This is an extremely generous thing for sportsbooks to do, because let me tell you, Chestnut was not coming close to 75 dogs. Playing through injury, he finished with 63. And even if I’m accounting for the disruption in his rhythm and whatever else it takes to eat a ridiculous amount of hot dogs at a ridiculous pace, I don’t think he makes up a margin of 12.

That being said, it wasn’t a bad bet coming in. The man literally owns the top 10 records for hot dogs eaten in the contest, including the all-time record he just set last year at 76. If I was betting on the contest, I wouldn’t have bet against him either.

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Joey Chestnut is now obviously one of the greatest athletes of our time

What Joey Chestnut did yesterday was incredible.

This is the online version of our daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning.

We are living in an amazing time to be sports fans.

Think about all the cool stuff we’ve been able to witness recently.

Steph Curry doing Steph Curry things while leading the Warriors to their fourth NBA title.

Tom Brady winning a million Super Bowls.

LeBron James being awesome at basketball for like 900 years.

The list could really go on and on but I have some business to take care of here so let’s get into it.

Yesterday we were able to witness even more greatness from a legendary athlete who has become the best to ever stuff hot dogs into his mouth at a rapid rate and with total disregard for his intestines or general well being.

I’m talking, of course, about Joey Chestnut. The hot dog GOAT.

The 38-year-old competitive eater went into yesterday’s Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest as the overwhelming favorite to win the thing and then he went out there and showed everybody why by eating 63 hot dogs in 10 minutes and rolling by 15 hot dogs to his 15th title in 16 years.

That’s just what Joey Chestnut does. That’s just who Joey Chestnut is.

I know what you’re thinking right now – competitive eaters aren’t athletes! And to that I say you are 14-million percent wrong. This competition aired on ESPN (well, technically ESPNNews, which is apparently still a thing) and that network is a sports network that only airs sports. If your event is shown on ESPN then it’s a sport. It’s as easy as that.

Poker? A sport.

Spelling bee? A sport.

Baseball? A sport.

If you needed any more proof that Chestnut is a dominant athlete then you should have seen what he did to a protester who jumped on the stage in the middle of the event. Chestnut basically choked the fella out while slamming another hot dog down his gullet. His level of athleticism in that moment was off the darn charts. You can’t coach that stuff. You can’t teach that stuff. Sometimes athletes get in the zone and make the unthinkable look so easy to pull off. That’s what Chestnut did yesterday on Coney Island. It’s what he does every year on Coney Island.

Oh, you need more proof that the hot dog king is an athlete? Chestnut showed up yesterday on crutches and with a cast on his foot due to a ruptured tendon that he recently suffered.

Dude played through pain. There were no excuses. There was no woe-is-me attitude. The man just loosened his belt and ate all the hot dogs as quickly as possible because he’s a GOAT and that’s what GOATs do.

What an awe-inspiring performance.

We’re lucky to be living in the Chestnut ear, folks. Enjoy it while you can.

Quick hits: White Sox run into embarrassing triple play… Wild in-the-park homer… The 19 best Brian Windhorst memes… And more. 

(Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

– The Twins pulled off a historic triple play last night but all I could take from it was… WHAT WERE THE WHITE SOX DOING?!

– Chicago’s other baseball team, the Cubs, had an awesome in-the-park home run yesterday in Milwaukee.

– My pal Charles Curtis has collected the 19 best Brian Windhorst ‘Now why is that?’ memes.

– Mary Clarke looks at 6 NHL trades that need to happen this offseason.

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