And we have two wieners!
Joey ‘‘Jaws’’ Chestnut put away 62 hot dogs and buns today, chowing his way to a fifth consecutive victory at the Nathan’s International Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island.
‘‘I may be hitting the Pepto-Bismol later, but I feel great [now],’’ Chestnut said moments after defending his mustard-yellow belt.
Back in Manhattan, Chestnut’s bitter rival Takeru Kobayashi wanted to eat up some of Chestnut’s spot light.
The former champ, banned from this year’s Nathan’s competition due to a contract dispute, downed 69 dogs at a protest event at the rooftop bar 230 Fifth and made his claim for the world title.
The Nathan’s contest also ushered in a new era of competitive eating with the first-ever women’s event — won by Sonya ‘‘The Black Widow’’ Thomas, who ate 40 hot dogs.
Each of the champion “weapons of mass digestion” — as the Major League Eating Organization likes to call them — took home a $10,000 first prize from the annual Coney Island extravaganza.
Chestnut, a mild-mannered 6’1″, 220-pound construction manager from San Jose, Calif., ran away with the dog derby after some early heated competition from Pat “Deep Dish” Bertoletti of Chicago, who wound up wolfing down 53.
Although Chestnut, 27, didn’t equal his previous world record of 68, set in 2009, he said after the competition, sounding like a top athlete in any sport, “I came out here to win. I did what I had to do.”
Chestnut’s technique — if it can be called that — included dipping his dogs and buns in hot water before shoving them down — a trick he said earlier helped relax his throat muscles. At the same time, he bounced up and down on his toes as his arms turned into shoveling machines.
Gravy Brown of Chicago, one of the 17 men’s competitors, dropped out midway through, but the others battled on to the end under overcast skies and high humidity. Finishing in third place was Tim “Eater X” Janus of New York City with 45 dogs downed.
Chestnut’s track record is not confined to hot dogs, however. Among his other competitive eating title triumphs: 47 grilled cheese sandwiches in 10 minutes; 7.5 pounds of Buffalo chicken wings in 12 minutes; 23 6″ Philly cheese steak sandwiches in 10 minutes and 9.8 pounds of pork ribs in 12 minutes.
With NewsCore