Chestnut wins hot dog contest after eat-off
The men tied at 59 frankfurters in 10 minutes, before being made to gobble another five dogs in a last-minute tiebreaker. They consumed 64 hot dogs total and were looking quite peaked after the competition.
Kobayashi had hoped to reclaim the throne after a disappointing three-dog loss last year shattered his six-year winning streak.
"He wanted it, but I needed it," Chestnut said of his diminutive Japanese rival.
Thousands gathered at Coney Island on the Fourth of July to watch the gluttonous gladiators compete in the annual event. Chestnut emerged victorious for the second year in a row, beating 20 others who had only 10 minutes to scarf down as many hot dogs as possible, two minutes less than in previous years.
The regulation time was changed after it was revealed that the original competition in 1916 was just 10 minutes long, instead of the 12-minute limit used in more recent years. The switch made for a tense competition.
Richard Shea, one of the founders of the International Federation of Competitive Eating, said it was the first time in his memory the contest went into overtime.
As usual, Kobayashi's strategy was to eat all the dogs first, then dunk the buns and eat them. A pause while swallowing the soggy buns meant defeat.
"He should've won it, it was his to win," said judge Gersh Kuntzman said of the diminutive 30-year-old of Nagano, Japan.
The 128-pound legend in the competitive eating circuit told Brooklyn papers that he wasn't feeling 100 percent, and while he was improving, the tooth problem and sore jaw that hampered last year's performance were still something of a problem.
"If I put one more mouthful in, I could've won (in regulation)," Kobayashi said through a translator.
Their competitors also included a pizza cook from New York City, a fishmonger from Chicago and a 110-pound mother of two from Maryland.
Chestnut, who topped out at 210 pounds, downplayed his win, which includes $10,000 and the coveted mustard-yellow belt.
"It was crazy. I'm just a normal guy eating hot dogs on the Fourth," he said. "You can't overcomplicate it."
Chestnut said he was mentally prepared to eat 70, but his body was pushing back during the competition; it didn't want to swallow fast enough.
Recent comments
Joey Chestnut wins again.
The Pride Is Back, America!
Lee Iacocca | July 8, 2008 at 12:00 a.m.
Thanks, you guys, for eating my share. I feel a lot better than...
yea! | July 5, 2008 at 12:34 a.m.
Unbelievable, fun! I'd like to be there sometime to watch.
Dog | July 4, 2008 at 6:06 p.m.
