Mother Nature is no match for America's greatest tradition.
The men’s Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York was initially reported by WABC-TV as having been canceled due to lightning on Tuesday afternoon. The traditional home of the contest—Coney Island in Brooklyn, at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues—was deluged by rain Tuesday morning.
However, ESPN—like WABC-TV, a Disney subsidiary—surprised viewers by indicating the contest was delayed, not canceled, and that coverage would begin at 2 p.m.
The women’s contest was held and won by Miki Sudo of the United States for her ninth time with 39.5 hot dogs in 10 minutes.
🚨BREAKING NEWS!! 🚨The Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating contest will happen. 2pm est, following @SportsCenter on ESPN2. 🇺🇸🧨🌭
— Matt Barrie (@MattBarrie) July 4, 2023
The cancellation of the men’s contest would have denied the United States’s Joey Chestnut a chance at a 16th men’s title—the most in contest history.
Chestnut went on to win the delayed contest by consuming 62 hot dogs and buns—13 more than runner-up Geoffrey Esper. Chestnut now has won 16 of the past 17 competitions, only losing to Matt Stonie in 2015.
Held officially since 1972—and by some accounts on and off since 1916—the annual duel between competitive eaters has become something of a television institution. The contest has aired on the ESPN family of networks every year since 2003 and has been the subject of numerous documentary shows and films.
