Bertoletti, Sudo Rule Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, GOAT Dog Eater Joey Chestnut Takes on the U.S. Army

Chestnut eats 57 sausages in 5 minutes, Bertoletti devours 58 in 10 minutes

Patrick Bertoletti, 26, of Chicago, Illinois, won the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on Independence Day 2024 in Coney Island with a total of 58 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes, setting a new personal best for best hot dog eating contestant.

Geoffrey Esper, 49, of Oxford, MA, came in second, consuming 53 hot dogs and buns in just 10 minutes.

In the women’s category, 38-year-old Miki Sudo of Tampa, Florida, became a ten-time champion by eating 51 hot dogs and buns, setting a new women’s world record.

GOAT dog eater Joey Chestnut missed the event due to a contract dispute and attended his own event in El Paso, Texas at the Fort Bliss Meat and Greet.

Competing against four U.S. Army soldiers, Chestnut devoured 57 hot dogs and buns in just five minutes, while his competitors ate a total of only 49!

“I think I have a better chance of beating LeBron James one-on-one in basketball than I do of beating Joey Chestnut in an eating contest,” said Joey Shook, a U.S. Army specialist and member of the four-soldier team that lost to Chestnut.

The sixteen-time winner of the famous Fourth of July international hot dog eating contest was banned from participating in this year’s event.

According to a report in the New York Post, Chestnut has signed a deal with Impossible Foods, a competitor of Nathan’s that has launched vegan Vienna sausages.

“We are devastated to learn that Joey Chestnut has chosen to represent a competing brand that sells plant-based hot dogs rather than participate in the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4, 2024,” Major League Eating said in a statement.”

Major League Eating announced that Chestnut was allowed to compete in a competitive contest airing on Netflix on Labor Day. Chestnut reportedly earned $200,000 for his participation in last year’s contest and was offered a four-year, $1.2 million contract.

“MLE and Nathan’s have gone to great lengths to accommodate Joey and his management team, agreeing to the entry fee and allowing Joey to participate in a competitive, unbranded hot dog eating contest on Labor Day,” a Major League Eating spokesperson said.

“For nearly two decades, we have operated under the same basic hot dog exclusivity terms. However, it appears that Joey and his managers have prioritized a new partnership with another brand over our long-standing relationship.

“Joey Chestnut is an American hero. We would love to have him compete in the Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest. We hope he returns when he’s not representing a competing brand.”

An Impossible Foods spokesperson said: “We love Joey and support him in every competition he chooses. It’s OK to experiment with a new hot dog. Meat eaters shouldn’t have to limit themselves to just one hot dog.”

Chestnut, 40, is widely considered the GOAT of speed eating, having won the competition every year except one since 2007. Chestnut’s 76 sausages and buns in the 2021 competition remains a world record. Last year, he ate 62 in 10 minutes to defend his title.

“He is the Michael Jordan of competitive eating,” a source told Steve Cuozzo of the New York Post“But imagine if Michael Jordan said to Nike, ‘I love being the face of Nike, but I also want to do commercials for Adidas.'”

Chestnut, along with dozens of others, holds the record for making 32 Big Macs in 38 minutes, 44 Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers in five minutes, and 61.5 4-ounce pork roll sandwiches in 10 minutes.