On Monday, hot-dogging was at its most American at one of the Fourth of July’s most anticipated events.
Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, 38, successfully defended his possession of the Mustard Belt after devouring 63 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes at this year’s Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. On July 4th, the yearly tournament took place in Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. The competition made a major comeback to its original venue at Nathan’s flagship store. The last two competitions of the event were staged in other locations due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact.
Joey Chestnut And Miki Sudo Are This Year’s Winners
Miki Sudo, a 36-year-old competitive eater, also won the women’s section of the competition during the event. Sudo won her sixth title in the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest by scarfing down 40 dogs and buns in the 10-minute competition. Due to a different kind of bun in the oven—a baby boy—Sudo withdrew from the tournament the previous year. The celebration this year, however, was not without turmoil. Chestnut allegedly suffered a ruptured tendon in his leg and arrived at the competition using crutches.
With a stomach full of franks in the middle of the match, Joey Chestnut briefly head-locked an animal rights protester who had invaded the stage. The video circulated on social media after ESPN chose not to show it. Three demonstrators who are costumed as Storm Troopers and Darth Vader push their way onto the stage in the video. One makes it to Joey Chestnut’s side and emerges with a placard that reads, “Expose Smithfield’s Deathstar.” Joey Chestnut places the protester in a headlock for a while following the disclosure.
The demonstrators were criticizing the procedures used in hot dog production, according to a news release distributed by Direct Action Everywhere, a grassroots network of animal rights activists.
