The favorites lived up to the hype on America's 250th birthday



July 4th in the United States of America is defined by friends, family, fireworks and freedom. And professional eating. While you and your loved ones may be doing some professional eating of your own, the real competitions were taking place in Coney Island. The Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest has become a fixture on America's birthday, and the action was as hot as the temperatures outside.

Joey Chestnut cruised to his 18th Mustard Belt with 66 hot dogs and buns eaten. He averaged around 8.6 dogs digested per minute through the first half of the competition, but the heat definitely played a factor in his inability to reach 70. Chestnut won last year's contest with 70.5 "HDBs," and set the world record with 76 in 2021.

"I knew right away that I was fast, and I knew I was going to be able to get the win but I also knew early I wasn't going to break the record, so I just had to stay calm, don't push things, don't make any big mistakes," Chestnut said after his victory. "Dangit man, I got so much room left."

Chestnut has set the standard in competitive eating, and so has Miki Sudo on the women's side.

Earlier in the day, Sudo won her 12th belt by putting away 38.75 dogs. She set the world record in 2024 by eating 51 hot dogs. Sudo told ESPN she wasn't feeling at the top of her game, but relied on muscle memory and the crowd to carry her through.

"Someone pointed out that I'm still the only undefeated hot dog champion, so that target is on my back. I was able to make it one more year," Sudo said. "I'm just glad I could celebrate 'America 250' in such a great way."

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