The Winners Of The 2024 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest
Nothing says Happy Fourth of July quite like eating as many hot dogs as you can. While most of us do it just for fun, a few lucky individuals are now one title richer and over four dozen hot dogs fuller after the events that took place at Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. The 2024 winners are Miki Sudo and Patrick "Deep Dish" Bertoletti. Florida resident Sudo won the women's division of the competition for the 10th year in a row and set a new women's world record with a total of 51 hot dogs in ten minutes. The runner up in the women's division, Mayoi Ebihara, trailed behind with a total of 37 hot dogs. The men's division of the competition, however, welcomed brand new champion Patrick Bertoletti, who now holds his first title as champion after eating 58 hot dogs in ten minutes. The competitive eater was neck and neck with rival and presumed winner Geoffrey Esper, but ultimately won out in the last minute of the competition.
Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest has been a Fourth of July tradition in America since the 1970s. Today, the event attracts over 40,000 fans who travel to the Coney Island location in Brooklyn, New York to watch in-person, with millions more watching at home on television. In addition to the fame and notoriety that comes with winning this prestigious competition, the winners of both the men's and women's divisions each win a cash prize of $10,000.
This year's competition was missing one very famous contestant
Not everyone was happy to see Patrick Bertoletti win the title at Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. With the absence of the previous hot dog eating champion Joey Chestnut, who was banned from competing in the July 4th Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest after he signed a partnership with a rival brand that sells plant-based hot dogs, this year's events were divisive. Many fans voiced their frustration that Chestnut would not be there to defend his title for the 17th year in a row, after eating 62 hot dogs in under ten minutes back in 2023. In response to Bertoletti's win on Twitter, one user wrote, "No one cares. Joey Chestnut isn't there." However, not all fans agreed with Chestnut's decision to sign with Impossible Foods over Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs, a brand that he has been previously sponsored by for almost two decades. People on Twitter called Chestnut a "fraud" and a "sellout," and welcomed the new reigning champion from Chicago.
Regardless of feelings towards Chestnut's decision, his historic victories from competitions past still cast a large shadow. Chestnut still holds the world record for total number of hot dogs eaten in under ten minutes with a whopping total of 76 hot dogs — a record he set at this very event back in 2021.