Bertoletti, Sudo Take Top Honors in Nathan’s Famous Power Eating Contest, With Longtime Champion Absent

Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, the reigning men’s champion and winner of 16 of the previous 17 competitions, did not compete this year due to a dispute with a sponsor. He instead competed later in the day against four soldiers at a U.S. Army base in El Paso, Texas, where he devoured 57 hot dogs in five minutes.

Bertoletti, 39, of Chicago, won a tight 10-minute race that saw the leader go back and forth, beating 13 competitors from around the world. He said he lost weight and trained for three months with “an urgency” to prepare for the event, believing he had a good chance of winning.

“With Joey out, I knew I had a chance,” Bertoletti said. “I was able to unlock something that I don’t know where it came from.”

Bertoletti broke his previous record of 55 hot dogs at the event, which takes place every Independence Day on New York’s Coney Island, a seaside destination with amusement parks and a carnival-like summer culture.

Earlier in the women’s competition, Sudo, a 38-year-old dental hygiene student from Florida, once again claimed victory and set a new record one year after eating 39 and a half hot dogs in 2023.

“I’m just happy to be able to say it’s mine for another year,” Sudo said after winning the pink belt.

Sudo beat 13 competitors, including her 28-year-old rival, Mayoi Ebihara of Japan, who came in second after eating 37 hot dogs. She was also a finalist in 2023.

Sudo also outdid his partner, former Florida bodybuilder Nicholas Wehry, who ate 46 hot dogs in the men’s competition.

Bertoletti’s victory marks the first time the famous mustard belt has gone to someone other than Chestnut since 2015.

Thousands of fans, some wearing foam hot dog hats, gather each year at the event held outside the original Nathan’s location in Coney Island. Rich Shea, CEO of Major League Eating, the event’s organizer, noted that people still came out in droves even though Chestnut wasn’t there.

“He’s just a great competitor, a great guy, a grown man, and a man who made the choice not to be here today,” he said of the popular food champion on ESPN. “But fortunately for us, tens of thousands of people flock to Nathan’s Famous. It’s a pilgrimage every year. It’s not a paid Hollywood crowd.”

Competitors came from more than a dozen states and five continents, with prospects from Brazil, Japan, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Australia and the Czech Republic vying for the coveted title and a $10,000 prize.

Last year, Chestnut, from Indiana, ate his way to the title by eating 62 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. The record, which he set in 2021, is 76.

Chestnut was initially disinvited from the event due to a sponsorship deal with Impossible Foods, which specializes in plant-based meat substitutes and advertised on ESPN throughout the event Thursday.

Major League Eating has since announced that it has lifted the ban, but Chestnut still decided to spend the holiday with the troops. Chestnut said he would not return to the Coney Island contest without an apology.

The El Paso event was held on a military base that is not easily accessible to the public. Still, a few hundred fans showed up to support Chestnut, some wearing hot dog costumes and others wearing T-shirts that read “Let Joey Eat.” Chestnut’s total of 57 beat out the four Fort Bliss soldiers, who ate a combined 49 hot dogs.

Before the event, Chestnut had expressed concern that he wouldn’t be able to perform well without the support of the large, boisterous Coney Island crowd. But afterward, he said he had hit a “record pace.”

“I love you guys,” Chestnut told fans at Fort Bliss after recognizing the military service of his father, grandfather and brother. “You guys pushed me to my limit, thank you very much.”

The event was sponsored by Impossible Foods, though its vegan products were not used in the competition. The company’s CEO, Peter McGuinness, appeared on stage with Chestnut and representatives from Operation Homefront, a charity that helps military families. He presented the organization with a $106,000 donation check, or $1,000 for every hot dog eaten.

Chestnut will next face professional rival Takeru Kobayashi on September 2 in a Netflix special face-off.

Haigh reported from Norwich, Connecticut.