Meet the contestants of Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest 2024

NEW YORK — Contestants will register on Wednesday for the 2024 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, with longtime champion Joey Chestnut is noticeably missing from the men’s field this year.

The Fourth of July tradition dates back to 1916 and takes place in front of Nathan’s main store at Surf and Stillwell Avenues in Coney Island, Brooklyn.

A a total of 15 men and 14 women will fight for the $20,000 cash prize and the coveted Yellow Mustard Belt. For the first time in years, the men’s competition is completely wide open, as Chesnut will not be competing.

The women’s competition begins on Thursday at 10:45 a.m., followed by the men at 12 p.m.

Why isn’t Joey Chestnut participating in the 2024 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest?

Chestnut was the reigning Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Champion for more than a decade, but he is not participate in this year’s competition.

Nathan’s said he was fired last month because of his partnership with Impossible Foods, a rival company that makes plant-based hot dogs.

They say he is not “banned”.

“He’s never banned. He’s never been banned. We want him there. We wanted him there. We conceded all those elements. It was a matter of exclusivity,” said George Shea of ​​Major League Eating. “But the door is always open. He’s the world champion. The greatest champion of all time. We want him in Coney Island. He’s always welcome.”

Chestnut won his first hot dog eating contest at Nathan’s in 2007 and became a 16-time champion. The 40-year-old holds the all-time record for 76 hot dogs in 2021 and won last year with 62.

This summer, he will spend the Fourth of July participating in another hot dog eating contest at Fort Bliss in Texas, and will later compete against former champion Takeru Kobayashi in a Netflix special which is scheduled to air on Labor Day.

Who are the contestants in the 2024 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest?

This year’s competition includes participants from the United States – including one from Astoria, Queens – as well as Australia, Brazil, Canada, the Czech Republic, Japan, Korea and the United Kingdom.

Here is the lineup for the men’s field:

• Geoffrey Esper, 49, Oxford, Massachusetts – The second-best eater in the world according to Major League Eating. This is his ninth appearance in the competition. Nathan says his personal best is 51 hot dogs and buns, and he holds 19 world records in competitive eating, including 23.75 pounds of strawberry shortcake on June 15.
• Nicholas Wehry, 35, Tampa, Florida – No. 4 eater in the world according to Major League Eating. This is his seventh appearance in the competition. His personal best is 48 hot dogs and buns. He is the Cuban sandwich eating champion, having eaten 22 of them in 8 minutes. He is married to the best female competitive eater in the world, Miki Sudo.
• James Webb, 35, Sydney, Australia – Ranked #5 in the Major League Eating World Rankings and #1 competitive eater in Australia, Nathan’s calls him the “undisputed champion of the Southern Hemisphere.” His personal best is 47 hot dogs and buns and he holds six world records, including the world title of doughnut-eating champion with 70 glazed doughnuts, set on June 7.
• Gideon Oji, 32, Morrow, Georgia – Sixth best eater in the world according to Major League Eating. Personal best of 48 hot dogs and buns. At 6’1″, he is the tallest eater of all time in the major leagues. This is his ninth appearance in the competition. He holds the world record for eating kale, baked beans, bologna and green chile stew.
• Patrick Bertoletti, 39, Chicago, Illinois – No. 9 eater in the world, with a personal best of 55 hot dogs and buns. This is his sixth appearance in the competition. He holds 17 world records in competitive eating.
• Max Stanford, 36, Brixton, England – He is number 1 in the British Eating League with a personal best of 34 hot dogs and buns. He holds the world record for Jaffa Cakes, Minute Pies and for eating a 140g steak in five minutes.
• Darrien Thomas, 25, Orillia, Ontario – Ranked No. 12 in the world according to Major League Eating and No. 1 in Canada, his personal best is 34.5 hot dogs and buns. He is also the youngest competitor this year.
• Ricardo Corbucci, 37, Brasilia, Brazil – ranked 35th in the world and 1st in South America by Major League Eating. This is his first appearance in the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4.
• Radim “Steel Rod” Dvořáček, 33, Ostrava, Czech Republic – No. 1 Czech competitive eater with a personal best of 21.5 hot dogs and buns. He has competed in over 300 food contests and eating competitions in 17 countries.
• King Yamamoto, 40, Osaka, Japan – First appeared at Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4. He ate 17 pounds of ramen in 45 minutes and 15 pounds of steak in 50 minutes. He previously won the Battle of Big Eaters in Singapore in 2013.
• George Chiger, 45, Pocono Pines, Pennsylvania – ranks 21st among world eaters with a personal best of 32.5 hot dogs and buns, according to Major League Eating. It is his sixth appearance in the competition. He holds the world record for canned spray cheese, eating two 8-ounce cans in 59 seconds.
• Derek “Heavy D” Hendrickson, 36, Las Vegas, Nevada – is the eighth-best eater in the world, according to Major League Eating, with a personal best of 32.5 hot dogs and buns. This is his fifth appearance in the competition. As a tamale champion, he once ate 10 pounds of mac and cheese in 20 minutes.
• Sean Yeager, 32, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania – This is his first appearance in the competition. His personal best is 36.75 hot dogs and buns. In two eight-minute contests, he has eaten 50 doughnuts and 16 pounds of strawberry shortcake.
• William Claude Lyon IV, 36, North Augusta, South Carolina – Ate 30 hot dogs and buns at a qualifying round in Cleaveland and has previously competed in bodybuilding competitions and the Augusta Half IronMan. He has won 30 eating contests, including eating 11 pounds of cereal in 38 minutes.

Lineup for the women’s field:

• Miki Sudo, 38, Tampa, Florida – third best eater in the world according to Major League Eating and best female eater. She is a nine-time women’s champion and has won every year since 2014 except for 2021, which she missed due to her pregnancy with her son. Her personal best is 48.5 hot dogs and buns. She holds nine world records in competitive eating.

• Mayoi “Ebimayo” Ebihara, 28, Tokyo, Japan – This is her third appearance in the competition. She has a personal best of 33.5 hot dogs and buns. She finished second in 2023. Previously, she ate 15 pounds of curry in 15 minutes and 116 pieces of sushi in 16 minutes.
• Michelle “Cardboard Shell” Lesco, 40, Tucson, Arizona – The No. 10 eater in the world according to Major League Eating. She was the 2021 women’s champion, which Miki Sudo skipped due to pregnancy. Her personal best is 32 hot dogs and buns. This is her 13th appearance in the competition. She holds the Guinness World Record for eating 2448 grams of mayonnaise in three minutes.
• Larell Marie Mele, 60, Long Pond, Pennsylvania – Ranked No. 22 in the world by Major League Eating. Her personal best is 21.25 hot dogs and buns. This is her 14th appearance in the competition – the longest consecutive streak in the women’s division.
• Katie Prettyman, 41, Marysville, Washington – No. 23 female eater in the world according to Major League Eating, with a personal best of 16 hot dogs and buns.
• Mary Bowers, Seoul, South Korea – ranked 39th best eater in the world and 1st in Korea according to Major League Eating. Her personal best is 12 hot dogs and buns. This is her 10th time competing in the competition.
• Cherish Brown, 35, Edon, Ohio – This will be her third appearance in the competition, with a personal best of 10 hot dogs and buns.
• Jocelyn Young, 43, Sherman, Texas – She is the No. 29 female eater in the world and the No. 1 female eater in Texas and is competing in the competition for the sixth time.
• Julie Goldberg, 38, Astoria, Queens – She is the only New Yorker in the competition and has a personal record of 9.5 hot dogs and buns. This is her seventh appearance in the competition.
• Tandra Childress, 38, San Francisco, California – With a personal best of 12 hot dogs and buns, this is her first appearance in the competition. She previously ate 200 oysters in a restaurant competition.
• Ellen Straub, 29, Palm Bay, Florida – It’s her first time at the competition. She ate a personal best of seven hot dogs and buns. It’s also her first experience at a competitive eating event.
• Crystal “Crystal Pistol” Ocampo, 28, Vallejo, California – With a personal best of seven hot dogs and buns, this is her first appearance in the competition.
• Elizabeth “Glizzy Lizzy” Salgado, 32, Kern County, California – This is her third appearance in the competition. Her personal best is 8.75 hot dogs and buns.
• Rubianne Garcia, 32, San Antonio, Texas – This is her first time in the competition. Her personal best is seven hot dogs and buns.