NEW YORK (AP) — Miki Suto, a dental hygiene student from Florida, has won her 10th title at the annual Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July. Hot dog eating contest.
Sueto set a new world record for women by eating 51 hot dogs in 10 minutes on Thursday in New York City.
“I’m happy to call this mine another year,” Sudo said after winning his 10th pink belt.
Last year the 38-year-old defending champion forced 39 1/2 hot dogs to win. She defeated 13 competitors from around the world, including 28-year-old competitor Mayoi Ebihara of Japan. Ebihara finished second after eating 37 hot dogs in 10 minutes. He also got second place in 2023.
With the event’s biggest star —- Joey “Jazz” Chestnut — out of this year’s competition, Sudo’s decision set up a potential scenario where the women’s players ousted the men’s winner. Last year’s runner-up, Jeffrey Esper, has a personal best of 51, but only ate 49 last year.
Chestnut, who had won 16 of their previous 17 matches, was without a single appearance. Sponsorship Diff. Instead, he will later compete against soldiers at a US military base in El Paso. It would have opened up the traditional Brooklyn event for a new winner in the men’s category, where eaters from around the world competed to see how many hot dogs they could eat in 10 minutes on America’s Independence Day.
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. ESPN is televising the match live. The men’s matches will begin at 12:20 p.m
Competitors from Brazil, Japan, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Australia and the Czech Republic will come from over a dozen states and five continents.
“There’s going to be a new champion,” Australian James Webb, who set the world record for eating 70 donuts in eight minutes, said at a preview event in New York on Wednesday.
Last year Chestnut, from Indiana, defeated 62 dogs and buns in 10 minutes to win the title. His record is 76 in 2021.
“I’m going to push myself,” Sudo said Wednesday. Her competitor, Mayoi Ebihara from Japan, said through a translator that she was aiming to kill 50 hot dogs and eat until she passed out.
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Major League Eating, which organizes the Nathan’s Famous contest, said it had withdrawn the ban, but Chestnut decided to spend the holiday with the troops anyway.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.
