Patrick Bertoletti wins Nathan’s 4th of July Hot Dogs Contest

In the absence of 16-time winner Joey Chestnut, Patrick Bertoletti won Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dogs Contest on Thursday. Bertoletti won after eating a total of 58 hot dogs. He entered the event as the ninth best eater in the Major League Eating world.

Instead of competing in the Nathan’s Famous contest in Coney Island, Chestnut will compete in a live event later today. He will eat hot dogs against several members of the U.S. military. Last year, he won the Nathan’s Famous contest by demolishing 62 hot dogs.

Despite his suspension this year, Chestnut has stated that he is not averse to participating in the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in the future, even if there is currently tension.

Chestnut comments on Nathan’s suspension

This week, Chestnut shared his side of how he came to be ruled out of the race, arguing that the terms of his contracts were changed and that information was leaked.

“Everything with Impossible was perfectly fine after all my previous agreements,” Chestnut said. “They changed the terms (regarding) the exclusivity. And it’s not the first time they’ve changed some things, but it’s the first time they’ve really changed things after the fact, and I had to say, ‘Hey, it’s too late, I already started working with this brand.’ That’s never been a problem in the past.”

Chestnut says information about him has been leaked, including blatant misinformation.

“And they tried to talk around it – they changed a lot of terms and then they escalated things to a degree they hadn’t imagined when they started leaking information and telling people I had been banned and I had become vegan, which is obviously not the case,” Chestnut said.

Competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi ends his career

Former Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest winner Takeru Kobayashi retired last month after revealing in a Netflix documentary the toll the competitive eating contest took on his body. He last competed in the Fourth of July contest in 2009. His arch-nemesis Joey Chestnut defeated him after a 2008 eating contest, eating 68 hot dogs versus 64.5.

At the 2010 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, Kobayashi was arrested after his performance on stage, having been barred from participating due to an exclusivity issue with his contract. He claimed he did not attempt to participate until the crowd goaded him into it.

In 2024, Kobayashi decided to quit. In Netflix’s “Hack Your Health,” Kobayashi detailed how his years of competitive eating left his body in an unsustainable state.

“I hear people say they are hungry and they look very happy after they eat. I am jealous of those people because I am no longer hungry,” he said in the documentary. “I hope to live a long and healthy life.”

Despite his official retirement, Kobayashi will face Chestnut in a special Netflix live event on Labor Day.