Introduction
The Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest is an annual American hot dog competitive eating competition held on July 4th each year at Nathan’s Famous Corporation’s flagship restaurant at 1310 Surf Avenue in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. The contest originated in 1916 between four immigrants arguing over who was the most patriotic. This event transformed into an officially sponsored contest in 1972. According to Nathan’s, on July 4, 1916, four immigrants held a hot dog eating contest at the very first Nathan’s Famous store in Coney Island to settle an argument about who was the most patriotic. This event turned into an annual tradition and gained popularity over the years, eventually becoming an officially sanctioned competitive eating competition sponsored by Nathan’s Famous beginning in the early 1970s.
2023 Contest Details
The 2023 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest took place on Tuesday, July 4, 2023 from 11am to 1pm at the original Nathan’s Famous restaurant located at 1310 Surf Avenue in Brooklyn, New York (https://majorleagueeating.com/contests/962/). This marked the 105th anniversary of the legendary hot dog eating competition. The format consisted of professional competitive eaters seeing who could consume the most hot dogs and buns within 10 minutes. Men and women competed in separate divisions.
Prize Money
The prize money for the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest has remained consistent in recent years. The total prize pool is $40,000, split evenly between the men’s and women’s divisions with $20,000 allocated to each.
The winner of the men’s competition receives $10,000. The runner-up gets $5,000, and third place earns $2,500. The remaining prize money is distributed among the other top finishers. For example, in 2022 Joey Chestnut won $10,000 for first place, while Geoffrey Esper earned $5,000 for second place and Nick Wehry got $2,500 for finishing third.
Similarly, the winner of the women’s competition takes home $10,000. Second place earns $5,000 and third gets $2,500. In 2022, Miki Sudo won the women’s division and received the top prize of $10,000. Michelle Lesco finished second for $5,000 and Sarah Rodriguez placed third for $2,500.
While the top prizes have remained steady, Major League Eating has increased some of the lower tier winnings in recent years. For example, fifth place used to earn $500 but now gets $1,000 in both the men’s and women’s divisions. This rewards greater participation and depth of competition.
In summary, the total purse is $40,000 split evenly between men and women, with $10,000 going to the winner of each division. The top finishers earn incrementally smaller prizes ranging from $5,000 for second place down to $1,000 for fifth.
Men’s Division
The defending champion in the men’s division is Joey Chestnut, who has won 15 of the last 16 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contests, including the 2022 contest where he ate 63 hot dogs and buns. Chestnut came back to Coney Island in 2023 looking to defend his title once again (https://majorleagueeating.com/articles/1037).
Some of Chestnut’s top competitors include Geoffrey Esper, who came in second place to Chestnut in 2022 by eating 47.5 hot dogs, and Nick Wehry, who finished third with 44 hot dogs consumed. Both Esper and Wehry were expected to push Chestnut again in 2023 (https://abc7ny.com/nathans-hotdogs-content-2023-hot-dog-eating-contest-coney-island-joey-chestnut/13456057/). Other contenders looking to potentially dethrone the reigning champion included James Webb and Darron Breeden.
Women’s Division
The defending women’s champion is Miki Sudo, who won her ninth title in 2023 by eating 39.5 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes (The Hot Dog Eating Contest – Nathan’s Famous). Sudo holds the women’s world record of 48.5 hot dogs and buns set in 2020. She will look to further extend her reign as the top female competitive eater in the world.
Other top contenders in the women’s division include Michelle Lesco, who finished second to Sudo in 2023 by eating 26 hot dogs and buns (FL Mom Wins 2023 Nathan’s Hot Dog-Eating Women’s Contest). Sarah Rodriguez and Marissa Strauss are also expected to challenge Sudo for the title.
Rules and Regulations
The Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest has a strict set of rules that all contestants must follow. The contest is sanctioned and judged by Major League Eating (MLE), the main governing body for professional eating contests.
Some of the key rules as per MLE are:
- Contestants have 10 minutes to eat as many hot dogs and buns as possible.
- The hot dogs and buns must be eaten separately.
- Any vomiting results in automatic disqualification.
- “Picnic-style” eating rules are in effect, meaning no mashing, dunking or separating multiple hot dogs and buns at a time.
- Water is allowed during the contest, but other beverages must be approved by judges.
- utensils are prohibited.
- The winner is determined by the number of hot dogs and buns (HDB) eaten and digested within the time limit.
There are also strict rules against dunking and “chipmunking” (stuffing full hot dogs in the cheeks) to eat more quickly. Any infractions may result in contestants being issued warnings or having hot dogs deducted from their totals.
These regulations ensure the Nathan’s contest adheres to standards of fairness and safety for all participants.
Source: Hot Dog Eating Contest rules, explained: Time limits, vomiting, and more | Sporting News
Training and Preparation
Competitive eaters go through intense training to prepare for Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest each year. According to Men’s Health, competitors will practice eating 10-minute timed runs of hot dogs weekly to improve their speed and technique. Reigning champion Joey Chestnut told Insider that he begins training in January which involves dieting, stretching his stomach, and doing practice runs. Chestnut said he eats lettuce to get his stomach to expand and drinks water or diet soda to stretch his stomach.
In the weeks leading up to the contest, competitors will do intense training eating dozens of hot dogs in one sitting to prepare their bodies. They train their jaw and throat muscles to chew and swallow more efficiently. Some eat hot dogs split in half to fit more in their mouths while others dunk buns in water to help swallow faster. Proper training and preparation allows competitive eaters to consume dozens of hot dogs in 10 minutes on contest day.
Records
The current men’s record is held by Joey Chestnut, who ate 76 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes at the 2022 contest.[1] Chestnut has won 15 times since 2007.
The women’s record is held by Miki Sudo, who ate 48.5 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes at the 2020 contest.[2] Sudo has won 7 times since 2014.
Controversies
The Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest has seen its share of controversies over the years. In 2003, former champion Takeru “The Tsunami” Kobayashi was disqualified after it was revealed he had broken contest rules by eating the hot dogs separately after removing the buns (source). There are also accusations that Kobayashi received special treatment from judges during his reign.
More recently in 2022, female champion Miki Sudo faced backlash when she appeared to regurgitate some hot dogs after her record-setting win. She later apologized and explained it was unintentional, but some spectators felt it went against the spirit of the contest (source). There are ongoing debates about what should constitute disqualification in competitive eating.
Conclusion
In summary, the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest is an exciting annual July 4th tradition celebrating Americana and competitive eating. The 2023 contest will offer a total prize purse over $40,000 split among the men’s and women’s divisions. Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo enter as defending champions and seek to extend their records of 15 and 7 titles, respectively.
While the contest continues to draw enthusiasm and spectators, there are concerns over health risks and ethics. Ultimately, the Nathan’s contest provides entertainment while showcasing the incredible capacities of the human body. Moving forward, organizers may need to implement more safety measures as competitors push the limits of competitive eating even further. However, the hot dog eating contest looks poised to continue as a beloved, if outrageous, American pastime.