Winner of eight consecutive titles, Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, watched his legacy crumble as Matt “The Megatoad” Stonie, was awarded the bejeweled Mustard Yellow International Belt at Nathan’s 99th annual Famous Fourth of July Contest in Coney Island.
In a matter of 10 minutes, Stonie devoured a total of 62 hot dogs and buns, a personal best thus far. Unable to keep up, Chestnut took second place with a total of 60 hot dogs and buns.
“My body just wasn’t responding well today,” said defeated Chestnut.
Stonie, 23, from San Jose, California placed second in last year’s competition. “It takes a lot of work and I came prepared,” Stonie told reporters. “It’s an amazing feeling.”
Stonie holds other records such as the World Bacon Eating Champion, 182 strips in five minutes, the World Birthday Cake Eating Champion, 14.5 pounds in eight minutes and the World gyro Eating Champion, 24.8 ounce Gyros in 10 minutes, just to name a few.
With a total of 38 hot dogs in 10 minutes, Miki Sudo, 29, took home the bejeweled pink belt again this year in the Women’s Hot Dog-Eating World Championship. This was the second year in a row that Sudo beat her top rival, Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas.
“I only practiced three times this year, and of my numbers were really low, so I was pretty discouraged coming into it. I actually stumbled in the first minute,” Sudo said in a one-on-one after her win. “I’m glad it’s over. I’m eager to watch the footage,” she laughed, as she gripped her trophy in one hand and pink belt in the other.
Sudo’s other records consist of 145 oysters in three minutes, 71 Twinkies in six minutes and 61.5 bratwursts in 10 minutes.
Bagpipe-and drum duo Scottish Octopus and a K-Pop choreography showcase by I Love Dance studio also entertained the hundreds of fans who surrounded the stage.
Opera singer, Maria DeStefano sang Ave Maria, as the crowd took a moment to pay tribute to her recently deceased brother, Coney Island Icon James “Little Jimmy” Mastrangelo. Little Jimmy’s red, white and blue, Uncle Sam top hat was brought to the stage and be showcased in Coney Island permanently.
Along with the contest tradition that, according to archives, began when the original Nathan’s opened in 1916, Nathan’s upheld its charitable practice that began in 2008, donating 100,000 hot dogs to Food Bank For New York City. The program lends assistance and raises awareness to the millions of New Yorker’s in need of food. Nathan’s has donated 800,000 hot dogs since they began the ritual.
As the event came near it’s closing, it turned out not everyone was all that giddy about the friendly competition. A group of animal activists pulled out signs and chanted, “It’s not food, its violence,” as a couple ran onto the stage. However, the 60th precinct officers quickly took action to move the group in order to allow the ladder portion of the event to proceed.
