Nathan’s hot dog competitor Nathan Wehry denies fraud allegations

(NewsNation) — A Major League Eating star is embroiled in a cheating scandal. He is accused of stealing his opponent’s plates at the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4 in an attempt to inflate his score and secure a place among the elite of competitive eaters.

Nick Wehry finished fourth with a score of 51.75, according to the MLE’s official rankings, but two sources close to the competition cited “footage and reports” from the day of the competition that show a different score, the New York Post reported.

How can you cheat at a hot dog eating contest?

Wehry allegedly used hand tricks during the competition to increase the number of hot dogs he ate, the two sources told the New York Post.

Citing footage, the sources claimed Wehry’s actual total score in the 10-minute contest was 46.75 hot dogs, not the 51.75 that would have earned him fourth place.

They also claim Wehry stole plates from another contestant’s stack and added them to his own. The judges count the number of hot dogs eaten from those plates, each of which contains five hot dogs.

Footage of the competition obtained by the New York Post reportedly shows Wehry still loitering at the competition table, “picking up a plate and spinning it” after the clock hit zero.

“I would never want to accept a place that I don’t deserve”: Wehry

Wehry denied any wrongdoing, stating that he would “never cheat” and that he wanted any mistakes corrected.

“If MLE finds that I counted wrong, then correct my number. My ranking has not changed in this case. I would never want to accept a ranking or number that I did not deserve. I would never cheat in a competition, no matter why. People who know me know that,” Wehry told the New York Post.

Wehry is also the husband of Miki Sudo, the women’s division champion and a ten-time champion. Sudo ate 51 hot dogs in 10 minutes, setting a new women’s world record. The 38-year-old defending champion from last year won after eating 39 1/2 hot dogs, while her personal best is 48 1/2, the women’s world record.

How does Major League Eating respond?

Major League Eating, which sponsors the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest and oversees the official scoring, said it launched an investigation after learning of the allegations against Wehry.

“It is not our policy to overturn the final decision of the judges,” MLE said.

Wehry will participate in a blueberry eating contest on Saturday.

NewsNation has reached out to Nathan’s Famous for comment but has not yet received a response.