CONEY ISLAND, Brooklyn — Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating contest returns Saturday with extra patriotic flair for the United States’ 250th birthday, following a headline-filled year for the annual Coney Island spectacle and one of its biggest names.
In January, longtime contest sponsor Nathan’s Famous was acquired by packaged meat heavyweight Smithfield Foods. Months later, men’s defending champion and record-setter Joey Chestnut faced legal trouble after being accused of slapping a man at an Indiana bar, later pleading guilty in April to a misdemeanor battery charge.
Still, the famed frankfurter faceoff is moving ahead, with Chestnut and Miki Sudo expected to return and defend their 2025 titles in the men’s and women’s competitions.
The rules remain simple: contestants have 10 minutes to eat as many hot dogs and buns as they can, often dipping the food in water to help it go down faster.
Sudo, an 11-time champion, owns the women’s record with 51 hot dogs eaten.
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Chestnut has claimed the coveted Mustard Belt 17 times and holds the men’s all-time mark of 76 hot dogs. He remains on probation in the battery case but is permitted to travel outside Indiana. His attorney has described the bar incident as a misunderstanding and said Chestnut took responsibility for his conduct.
Major League Eating, the organization that runs the Nathan’s Famous contest, said the criminal case did not impact Chestnut’s eligibility to compete.
The tradition, first held in 1972, takes place outside the original Nathan’s Famous restaurant in New York’s Coney Island.
HOW TO WATCH
If you can’t make it to Coney Island, ESPN will be airing and streaming the competition. Coverage of the women’s competition begins at 10:45 a.m. ET on ESPN+/ESPN App where the contest will be re-aired during the men’s competition.
The men’s competition airs at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN2, and will re-air on the same channel at 4 p.m. ET. ABC will simulcast coverage beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET for 30 minutes.
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