76 sausages: hot dog weather eaters break their own record

The sausage eating contest in New York is a long-standing tradition on the US national day on July 4th. This time, too, a new record was set.

New York – More than 22,000 calories in ten minutes: The series champion Joey Chestnut has set a new record with 76 hot dogs eaten at the traditional eating contest in New York’s Coney Island amusement park.

The 37-year-old Californian ate 76 sausages in buns on Sunday, adding a hot dog to his previous best performance of 2020. According to the organizers, this is a new world record.

Chestnut, who won the competition for the 14th time, devoured a dozen hot dogs in the first minute alone. In the end, the eating professional with the nickname “Jaws” was way ahead of his 16 colleagues. Second place went to Geoffrey Esper with 50 sausage sandwiches, while third place Nick Wehry managed 44 hot dogs.

“It just felt good,” said Chestnut after winning the US sports broadcaster ESPN. “Even when I was uncomfortable, I felt good because everyone cheered and pushed me.”

In the women’s class, the 37-year-old teacher Michelle Lesco won with just under 31 hot dogs (30.75). It was well below the women’s world record set by Miki Sudo last year with 48.5 hot dogs in ten minutes. It was Sudo’s seventh win in the competition. The 35-year-old fast eater missed this time, she is heavily pregnant.

She owed her win to “a lot of hard work,” said Lesco after her victory. In 2019 she made it to second place with 26.5 hot dogs.

In front of a cheering audience, the participants stood side by side at a long table and stuffed the sausages and rolls into themselves with both hands. Thousands of people watched the spectacle. Last year, the event took place without spectators due to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2020, the number was limited to five weather eaters in the women and men, they were separated from each other by plastic discs.

The prize for the winners: In addition to a bonus of 10,000 dollars, there is a yellow “Mustard Belt” (mustard belt), which is reminiscent of a winner’s belt in boxing matches.

The Coney Island beachfront eating contest dates back to a marketing campaign in 1972 and has been held annually on July 4th for US Independence Day since then. The host is the fast-food restaurant Nathan’s Famous, which opened in 1916. dpa