NEW YORK — No mustard. No ketchup. Just a right hand with a hot dog, a left hand with a bun — and a champion’s heart full of sodium.
Joey Chestnut won a record 15th Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest on Monday, scarfing down 63 hot dogs and 63 buns in 10 minutes.
Give that man some lemonade!
“It was a crazy contest,” Chestnut said after conquering Coney Island’s iconic July 4 event yet again. “I’m happy I was able to come through on top. New York is amazing. There’s no place like it in the world.”
With the beach crowd chanting his name — “Jo-ey, Jo-ey, Jo-ey” — Chestnut beat the second-place finisher by a full 20 hot dogs.
Chestnut set the world record by wolfing down 76 hot dogs and buns last year.
Chestnut said it usually takes about five to seven days to feel normal after the gastrointestinal endurance test.
The GEOAT — Greatest Eater of All Time — walked away with another mustard-colored belt to wrap around his full waist.
Nathan’s historians date the first contest back to July 4, 1916 — the year Ida and Nathan Handwerker opened Nathan’s on Surf Avenue.
That Independence Day, three men were arguing over who was the most American, and began scarfing down hot dogs to prove their patriotism.
Since then, the contest has become an international event, drawing contestants from all over the world and live coverage from ESPN.
The contest even features a pre-event weigh-in.
Past titleholders include Japanese sensation Takeru Kobayashi and champ Chestnut.
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