NEW YORK (AP) — Chicago native Patrick Bertoletti defeated 58 hot dogs to win his first men’s title Thursday at Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July. Hot dog eating contest.
Bertoletti won a tight, 10-minute race where the leader bounced back and forth. Bertoletti, 39, beat 13 contestants from around the world in a test to see who could down the most hot dogs in 10 minutes.
“I’m not going to stop eating until the job is done,” Bertoletti said.
Bertoletti bettered his previous record of 55 hot dogs at an event held every Independence Day in New York’s Coney Island.
Defending men’s champion Joey “Jaws” Chestnut did not compete this year. Sponsorship Diff. Instead, Chestnut will compete against players at the U.S. Army base in El Paso later in the day. Chestnut has won 16 of its previous 17 contests.
Bertoletti said he “urgently” cut weight and trained for three months to prepare for Thursday’s event and thought he had a good chance of winning.
“With Joey not being here, I knew I had a shot,” he said. “I was able to open something I didn’t know where it came from. But I wasn’t complaining.
Earlier on Thursday, defending champion Miki Sudo of Florida won her 10th women’s title.
Sudo ate 51 hot dogs in 10 minutes – and set a new world record for women.
“I’m happy to call this mine another year,” Sudo said after winning his 10th pink belt.
The 38-year-old dental hygiene student won last year by forcing down 39 1/2 hot dogs.
Sudo defeated 13 competitors, including Japan’s 28-year-old Mayoi Ebihara. Ebihara finished second after eating 37 hot dogs in 10 minutes. He also got second place in 2023.
Bertoletti’s win is the first time since 2015 that it has gone to someone other than the legendary Mustard Belt chestnut.
Thousands of fans flock each year to the event, which takes place outside the original Nathan’s location on Brooklyn’s Coney Island, a waterfront destination of amusement parks and a festival of summer culture.
Competitors came from more than a dozen states and five continents, including Brazil, Japan, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Australia and the Czech Republic.
Last year Chestnut, from Indiana, defeated 62 dogs and buns in 10 minutes to win the title. His record is 76 in 2021.
Chestnut was in the beginning Uninvited From the event on a sponsorship deal with Impossible Foods, a company specializing in plant-based meat alternatives.
Major League Eating, which organizes the Nathan’s Famous contest, said it had withdrawn the ban, but Chestnut decided to spend the holiday with the troops anyway.
Chestnut said he would not return to the Coney Island tournament without an apology.
Traditional franks will be used in the event at Fort Bliss Army Base in El Paso, which begins at 5 p.m. ET, with the chestnut attempting to eat four soldiers in five minutes.
Although he doesn’t eat vegan, Impossible Foods is promoting Chestnut’s YouTube live broadcast of the fair by flying airplanes with banners over Los Angeles and Miami. The company will also make a donation to an organization that supports military families based on the number of hot dogs eaten at the event, a spokesperson said.
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Haig reported from Hartford, Connecticut.
