Wiener takes all: Joey Chestnut retains his hot dog eating crown

7/4/23 7:00PM

Wiener takes all‍

‍Joey “Jaws” Chestnut has once again won the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, held at the historic site of the company’s original Coney Island stand. While he clinched the coveted mustard-yellow belt for an astounding 16th time, his 62-dog effort in 10 minutes fell short of his own jaw-dropping record of 76, set in 2021.

With a myth-filled history dating back to 1916, the competition's official format started to take shape in the 1970s. Sometimes dubbed the “Olympics of competitive eating”, today the contest garners widespread coverage from international news outlets, from The New York Times to the BBC.

‍Dog eat dog

‍In 2001, the competition underwent a transformation when Takeru Kobayashi introduced ground breaking techniques — removing the hot dog, splitting it in two, dipping the bread in water, and wiggling his body throughout. These methods allowed him to consume 50 dogs – a feat that doubled the previous record.

Since 2007, however, it’s been the Joey Chestnut show, with many now wondering if he can ever break his own record of 76 – one study puts the theoretical maximum amount of hot dogs a human can consume in 10 minutes at 83.

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