The 2024 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest kicked off at the corner of Surf and Stillwell in Coney Island, New York. While the tournament is all the same, a major player – and an American icon – wasn't present.
This year, Joey Chestnut wasn't be part of the contest due to a contractual dispute with Major League Eating, leaving him on the sidelines and away from an opportunity at a 17th Mustard Belt. That opened the door (and the esophagus) for Patrick Bertoletti, who won in Chestnut's absence.
On the women's side, it was Miki Sudo and the field: Sudo is now a 10-time winner of the Ketchup Belt and has finished at the top of the heap in every contest she's performed in.
Patrick "Deep Dish" Bertoletti, 39, chomped down a personal best 58 hot dogs and buns to win the 2024 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, which was without perennial champion Joey Chestnut, who was banned from this year's contest due to a contractual dispute with Major League Eating.
In the women's contest, Miki Sudo ate 51 hot dogs and buns, becoming the first woman to break the 50-dog threshold and eclipsing her personal record of 48. She won her 10th pink championship belt.
Patrick "Deep Dish" Bertoletti, 39, hails from Chicago. He is not the second coming of Joey Chestnut, but he’s been an accomplished competitor on the Major League Eating (MLE) circuit for more than a decade.
He holds 32 world records, including 47 pieces of Big Apple pizza in 10 minutes, 29 waffles in 10 minutes, and five pounds of sour pickles in six minutes, according to his bio on the MLE website.
But the Mustard Belt had eluded him. Until Thursday, when he scarfed down 58 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes.
"I just can’t believe it," he said on ESPN's telecast, noting he always finishes second or third when he competes at Nathan’s. "I lost some weight. Just lots of work. There’s an urgency.
"With Joey not here, I knew I had a shot. I was able to unlock something that I don’t know where it came from."
Patrick Bertoletti, 39, of Illinois won the Mustard Belt by eating 58 hot dogs and buns in a back-and-forth 10-minute battle among a handful of eaters. It was the first time someone other than Joey Chestnut has won the contest since 2015, when Chestnut lost to Matt Stonie.
Bertoletti rallied from an early deficit and broke his personal record of 55 hot dogs.
"I wasn’t going to stop eating until the job was done," he said moments after the competition.
Geoffrey Esper of Massachusetts finished second with 53 hot dogs.
With three minutes to go, Bertoletti, Webb and Esper neck and neck. Photo finish to come?
At the five-minute mark, Patrick Bertoletti and James have eclipsed the 30 hot dog threshold.
James Webb devouring three dogs at a time.
Patrick Bertoletti, James Webb, Nick Wehry and Geoffrey Esper in a tight battle three minutes in.
Nick Wehry, fiancé of Miki Sudo, is out to the early lead.
They’re off and eating.
Hot dogs are cooked and plated. Competitors are situated and ready. The perfect time for a commercial break, right? Right.
Intros for the men’s competition are underway as only George Shea, the inimitable emcee can handle them. Ricardo Corbucci of Brazil takes the stage wrapped with a half-American, half-Brazilian flag. He’ll be making his Nathan’s debut as, according to Shea, the No. 1 competitive eater in Brazil. (Haven’t had a chance to double-check those rankings.) Several international competitors on hand. Representing Japan, the Czech Republic, England and Australia.
The X account for Major League Eating (MLE), which essentially banned Chestnut from competing at Nathan’s this year, has become a gathering place for Chestnut (mostly) supporters. Popular hashtags: #FreeJoey and #LetJoeyEat.
MLE’s official announcement about Chestnut’s status June 11 triggered 296 comments, including:
“The 30 for 30 about the downfall of the Nathan’s hot dog eating contest is gonna be lit."
"This is like Caitlin left off the USA team. I mean who is in charge over there. Watch the viewer drop 50%."
"Strip his old victories and records away from him, too."
So said ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap in narrating a tribute to Chestnut with footage of his triumphs and rare setbacks (the loss to Matt Stonie in 2015).
“This year the greatest eater of our time has put down the dogs and buns," Schaap said. "At least the Nathan’s dogs and buns."
What, you thought she’d stop after consuming 51 hot dogs and buns?
"I’ll probably look for something cold and refreshing," she told ESPN’s Tiffany Greene about an hour after her triumphant victory. "Maybe some fruit or soft serve."
ESPN is kicking off its next segment of the Nathan’s contest with a replay of Sudo’s record-breaking performance of 51 hot dogs and puns. Almost as impressive on replay as live.
Eric "Badlands" Booker etched his name in competitive eating (and drinking) history when he chugged a gallon of Nathan’s Famous lemonade in 21 seconds. Yeah, the Lemonade Chugging Contest is a thing.
The broadcast is live as the men’s competition approaches with just a slight change in regular programming. No Joey Chestnut.
Banned after signing an endorsement deal with Impossible Foods, Chestnut will be eating later today at the Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso, Texas.
Grab yourself a hot dog – beef or plant-based – and hang on during the intermission. The men’s competition will start at noon ET.
Sudo had another pink championship slung across her shoulder after shattering the women’s contest record with 51 hot dogs and gun – more than any other competitor but Joey Chestnut ate last year.
"I mean, I finally did it," Sudo told ESPN’s Tiffany Greene. "We finally beat 50. So much of this is thanks to (second-place finisher) Mayoi Ebihara, who was pushing me so much. Obviously I prepared even more because I knew she was going to bring it."
Sudo ate 51 hot dogs and buns, becoming the first woman to break 50-dog threshold and eclipsing her personal record of 48. She crushed her competitors and won her 10th pink championship belt.
Ebihara finished second with 37.
Emcee George Shea raising the possibility of Sudo outeating the men in the 10-minute competition.
She has a 12-dog lead with just over two minutes to eat. She’s closing in on her personal record.
Sudo once experimented with Joey Chestnut-style: two dogs at a time. Not today. She’s putting them down one at a time and has a four-dog league at the six-minute mark. ... Well, check that. On the fly, Sudo starts shoving the hot dogs down her gullet two at a time.
The countdown is complete and the devouring has begun. Sudo takes an early lead, devouring 10 hot dogs for a two-dog margin over the field.
Clutching a pink championship belt, Sudo takes the stage. So has her most serious challenger, Mayoi Ebihara, a 5-foot-1 eater from Japan. Last year Ebinara wolfed down 33.5 hot dogs and buns during her contest debut at Nathan’s.
Intros underway. Miki Sudo, and the 13 competitors she’s about to beat for her 10th title in 11 years. Jocelyn Young? Thanks for coming. Tandra Childress? Good to have you here. Katie Prettyman, take your place on the platform. But, let’s face it, Sudo is the big favorite.
Well, no massive boycott in Coney Island for the ban of Joey Chestnut. Massive crowd gathered for the contest, which begins with the women's competition at 11 a.m. ET.
Miki Sudo and the women get the Nathan's Famous festivities underway at 10:45 a.m. ET. Geoff Esper and the men take the stage around noon.
STREAM: Watch the 2024 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest
The women's side of the competition will air on ESPN3, the digital network. ESPN2 will carry the men's competition.
Chestnut will not be competing in the 2024 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest due to a contractual dispute with Major League Eating, the organization that sanctions the event.
In June, Chestnut signed an endorsement deal with Impossible Foods to sponsor a new, meatless hot dog. Representing a rival brand is something that gave MLE and Nathan's Famous more than a bit of indigestion, leading to him not being at the event this year.
The ban, though, isn't permanent, according to MLE, which wants Chestnut to compete at future events.
"Joey Chestnut is an American hero. We would love nothing more than to have him at the Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest, which he has dominated for years. We hope that he returns when he is not representing a rival brand," MLE said in a statement.
Though Joey Chestnut isn’t competing, there are still plenty of glizzy gobblers on the men’s and women’s side, including chew-perstar eater Miki Sudo.
Here’s the field:
Men’s
Women’s
Joey Chestnut is out of the competition, but not out of the loop. In an interview with USA TODAY Sports, he offered thoughts on who might win the men’s contest this year.
"There’s Geoff Esper," Chestnut said. "He’s an amazing eater and he just hasn’t been able to have a good contest on the Fourth of July. But he’s capable of 57. James Webb, he’s new and he’s getting better. So I can see his technique and eventually I think he’ll be in the 60s. He’s just getting started. Pat Bertoletti, I think he did 55 years ago (actually 49) and he started training a lot harder once he realize there was a chance (Chestnut would not complete).
"They’re awesome dudes."
In 2021, Joey Chestnut set the world record for hot dogs and buns eaten with 76. Chestnut set the world record twice in the prior three contests: In 2018, he shattered the world record, devouring 74 hot dogs and buns, and in 2020, he again set the standard, eating 75 hot dogs and buns.
On the women's side, Miki Sudo is the top dog (eater), munching 48 ½ hot dogs and buns in 2020.
Chestnut holds the record for most Mustard Belts, winning the contest 16 times. On the women's side, Miki Sudo has been an unstoppable eating force, winning nine of the last 10 Ketchup Belts.
Though he's not eating hot dogs on the Fourth of July, Chestnut will return to the competitive eating spotlight in a big, big way in 2024, by facing an old rival.
Chestnut will take on nemesis Takeru Kobayashi on Sept. 2 in a live Netflix special titled "Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef."
"Through all of my years in competitive eating, Kobayashi stands out as my fiercest rival," Chestnut said in a statement. "Competing against him pushed me to be so much better. I know that fans have waited a long time for another chapter of our rivalry and I can't wait for our massive showdown live on Netflix!"
Kobayashi and Chestnut last jawed off in 2009, with Chestnut chewing out the six-time Mustard Belt winner.
No surprises here: Joey Chestnut won a rain-soaked event that was threatened to be canned by Mother Nature. But the show went on, and so did Chestnut: He won the event by downing 62 dogs and buns, with Geoff Esper coming in second with 49 dogs and buns.
2023: Joey Chestnut, 62 (men's) | Miki Sudo, 39 1/2 (women's)
2022: Joey Chestnut, 63 (men's) | Miki Sudo, 40 (women's)
2021: Joey Chestnut, 73 (men's) | Michelle Lesco, 30 3/4 (women's)
2020: Joey Chestnut, 75 (men's) | Miki Sudo, 48 1/2 (women's)
2019: Joey Chestnut, 71 (men's) | Miki Sudo, 31 (women's)
2018: Joey Chestnut, 74 (men's) | Miki Sudo, 37 (women's)
2017: Joey Chestnut, 72 (men's) | Miki Sudo, 41 (women's)
2016: Joey Chestnut, 70 (men's) | Miki Sudo, 38 1/2 (women's)
2015: Matt Stonie, 62 (men's) | Miki Sudo, 38 (women's)
2014: Joey Chestnut, 61 (men's) | Miki Sudo, 34 (women's)
2013: Joey Chestnut, 69 (men's) | Sonya Thomas, 36 3/4 (women's)
2012: Joey Chestnut, 68 (men's) | Sonya Thomas, 45 (women's)
*2011: Joey Chestnut, 62 (men's) | Sonya Thomas, 40 (women's)
2010: Joey Chestnut, 54
2009: Joey Chestnut, 68
2008: Joey Chestnut, 59 (defeated Takeru Kobayashi in an untimed eat-off, eating five hot dogs in 50 seconds)
2007: Joey Chestnut, 66
2006: Takeru Kobayashi, 53 3/4
2005: Takeru Kobayashi, 49
2004: Takeru Kobayashi, 53 1/2
2003: Takeru Kobayashi, 44 1/2
2002: Takeru Kobayashi, 50 1/2
2001: Takeru Kobayashi, 50
2000: Kazutoyo Arai, 25 1/8
1999: Steve Keiner, 21 1/2
1998: Hirofumi Nakajima, 19
1997: Hirofumi Nakajima, 24 1/2
1996: Ed Krachie, 22
1995: Ed Krachie, 19 1/2
1994: Mike DeVito, 20
A "glizzy" is a slang term for a hot dog. The word has unknown origins, but some trace it back to handguns: A "Glizzy" is a slang term for a Glock handgun. The word then evolved to mirror the magazine of a handgun, which is approximately the length of a hot dog.
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