A video of Joey Chestnut's practice session last night at Hooters captioned 'Joey Chestnut kills 64 Hotdogs in 10 minutes" is available. Joey Chestnut will appear in an ESPN.com chat tomorrow morning.

June 30, 2009 at 5:13 pm by ojrifkin · More posts about:Joey Chestnut, Training, Videos | Permalink * Comments (40)

40 Comments »

  1. Gastroboy The Def. Eater said

    June 30, 2009 @ 5:29 pm

    My expectations for this year’s contest were around 65HDB for both Koby and Chesnut. But doing 64 out of a contest that easily makes me think twice about my predictions. I don’t think Koby can push Chesnut to eat substantially more than 65 anyway, and i don’t think Chesnut can do it on his own so i will say 65.5 this year.

  2. Anonymous said

    June 30, 2009 @ 6:06 pm

    Can somebody tell me how Koby qualified for Nathan’s this year please?

  3. Anonymous said

    June 30, 2009 @ 6:13 pm

    Every time Joey eats he looks like hes ready to hurl.

  4. Anonymous said

    June 30, 2009 @ 6:34 pm

    Im not sure but it may have something to do with him being a six time champion.

  5. GC said (Registered May 15, 2008)

    June 30, 2009 @ 6:49 pm

    Koby didn’t; neither did this Frenky character from Italy. There have been discussions back and forth on this board about why or why not Koby should have to qualify, so there’s no reason to go into that. Frenky was invited because he won some eating contest in Italy, but he should have had to qualify.

  6. Gastroboy The Def. Eater said

    June 30, 2009 @ 6:50 pm

    It’s taken for granted everywhere and from everybody including George Shea that Koby and Chesnut will have a rematch – again – this year. So, I guess it’s a bye again. It doesn’t look fair to me, being a Koby fan myself, but i guess it’s in favor of the show and a special gift for Koby from Nathan’s themselves – They really own him a lot in terms of mainstream exposure.

    Moreover, a Chesnut VS Pat or Tim hot dog eating match doesn’t engage people as much as a Chesnut VS Koby rematch right now – That’s a fact. So Koby is a must if you wanna sell out the contest right now…

  7. GC said (Registered May 15, 2008)

    June 30, 2009 @ 6:57 pm

    While we’re on the subject, instead of giving a seat at the final table to somebody who ate 9.5 hot dogs (the firemen vs. policemen qualifier), that seat should be a Wild Card and should be going to Pat from Moonachie.

  8. beautifulbrian said

    June 30, 2009 @ 9:32 pm

    Holy Shit! Joey that is awesome. I wish this was 1985. I think i could have given him a run for his money back then. If i tried that now i would drop dead of a massive heart attack on stage in front of millions. My demise due to the nature of it, would get more headlines than Michael Jackson. I will be watching you closely on stage. Kobe be afraid be very afraid

  9. mike landrich said (Registered July 4, 2007)

    June 30, 2009 @ 10:18 pm

    Go Joey. That is impressive, as always.

    As for Koby getting a bye. As much as it seems unfair, would it be any fairer to make him qualify at a qualifier where someone else won with 30, 40 or even 50?

  10. A-Bomb said (Registered May 7, 2009)

    June 30, 2009 @ 11:14 pm

    Wow! Christ, 4 hot dogs and buns in the first 15 seconds!

  11. was there said

    July 1, 2009 @ 1:30 am

    Joey got lazy after hitting 50 in 530. Look for more on saturday.

  12. Sweet Lola Lovin' said

    July 1, 2009 @ 8:25 am

    Joey who, that brunette waitress was hot, and a few others in and out of the frame. I’ll have to watch it again to see if I see Joey anywhere.

  13. Rhonda Evans said (Registered March 6, 2008)

    July 1, 2009 @ 8:36 am

    Actually, I think it hurts Koby not to have to qualify. What better forum is there to practice HDBs, especially for Koby where Nathan’s dogs are not as readily available, and are much more expensive, in his home country of Japan as they are in the states.

  14. Mega Munch said

    July 1, 2009 @ 8:38 am

    Making Koby qualify is like making Babe Ruth try out for his position at first base in spring training against a bunch of rookies and back-up players. You just don’t do it. Six Nathan’s championships pretty much guarantees him a spot at the table. In fact, I think, I think it should be a rule that if you’ve won the Nathan’s contest in the past five years, you don’t have to qualify.

  15. Mega Munch said

    July 1, 2009 @ 8:44 am

    Wow, I just watched that video. What Joey does in the first minute doesn’t seem physically possible. I counted 17, maybe 18 hot dogs in 60 seconds (I’d make a lousy judge). That’s almost twice as much in one minute as that firefighter ate in 10!

  16. Rhonda Evans said (Registered March 6, 2008)

    July 1, 2009 @ 9:27 am

    Yep, that performance was indeed unbelievable … but at what price?

    With the number of HDBs, as well as the quantity of other foods consumed, increasing at an increasing rate over the past several years, the risk of one or more eaters experiencing a health issue at an event, (especially during practice) or as a result of cumulative events, is greater than ever. I really hope the paramedics are on guard and ready at each and every contest.

    I’ll say it again, yeah, maybe Sonya’s not practicing keeps her from being ranked higher, but as competitive as she is, it’s a Godsend that she is not drawn into what seems to be an obsession with being number one at the expense of the potential health risks involved. Sonya’s very healthy and can probably remain in CE for decades if she wants.

    Sonya doesn’t waste food that is associated with rampant practicing, which invites detractors world-wide, yet she remains in the top ten —- number one in several foods. She’s the littlest eater, and a female to boot! Pound-for-pound, all foods considered, she’s the greatest competitive eater of all time, and has the most natural God-given talent of any competitive eater ever, with the exception of Kobayashi.

    Taking a few steps back and looking at the big picture, Sonya Thomas is the ultimate poster child of competitive eating. She’s the best-talented, one of the most recognized, and one of the least-offensive faces of CE world-wide.

  17. SPBBBMBBBB said

    July 1, 2009 @ 9:35 am

    Nathan’s final Prediction:

    61 Joey 591/2 Koby 54 Eater X 41 Pat B & Hall Hunt 38 Badlands Last Place: Freaky Franky

    Best Dressed: Both Chicago men, Deep Dish and Gravy

  18. Mega Munch said

    July 1, 2009 @ 10:17 am

    lol, “one of the least offensive faces of CE”. What are you saying, Rhonda? That none of the guys in CE get you all revved up?

  19. Gastroboy The Def. Eater said

    July 1, 2009 @ 10:18 am

    Rhonda, eating 66 hot dogs isn’t more dangerous than eating 50 or even 30 – as Sonya does – as long as it doesn’t result in stomach rupture – something that may happen at any point when you over eat. So I can tell you Sonya and Chesnut share the same health risks.

    Sonya eats one large meal a day. That’s why her stomach can pack as much food as she does and has the same risks as water training – apart from water intoxication only. She eats only one meal a day so that’s an added health issue Joey has not – we humans eat 3 to 5 or more times a day for a reason, call it water soluble vitamins, metabolism etc. And Sonya weights too little. She has an BMI < 16.5, when the WHO recomends a weight of at least 18.5. This may be a consecuence of her 1 meal a day habit. Joey doesn’t have that problem. As i type i’m thinking than maybe Sonya is more at risk than Joey.

    Everybody at competitive eating is by itself paying the same price when it comes to health. Doesn’t matter if it’s cash or card.

  20. Anonymous said

    July 1, 2009 @ 10:19 am

    The “Pound for Pound” argument needs a rest. Body weight doesn’t help you eat. Cut off someone’s legs, and they would still eat the same, even though “pound for pound” they’d be better.

  21. Rhonda Evans said (Registered March 6, 2008)

    July 1, 2009 @ 11:41 am

    Anonymous, you want to give the pound for pound argument a rest, because people can’t help how tall they are. Also, the taller you are the more food your body needs to support the extra blood and tissue. Additionally, the larger the torso the larger the frame one has to accommodate greatert stomach expansion. That is not conjecture or my opinion, that’s a fact. Ask any medical doctor. Just for Koby to come close to the much taller Chestnut is simply astonishing; Koby should not come within a dozen dogs of Joey. Joey SHOULD EASILY win Nathan’s. If Koby was as tall as Joey he’d annihilate him.

  22. Rhonda Evans said (Registered March 6, 2008)

    July 1, 2009 @ 12:02 pm

    Gastro, it’s quite simple, actually. Having experience with basic life support, and having worked with BLS instructors for nearly 10 years, I can tell you that the more instances any person speedeats (or tries to) massive quantities of food in a short amount of time, especially in practice without a trained life support specialist on hand, the greater the risk of incurring a blocked airway. If that person isn’t resuscitated very quickly —- within three minutes —- brain damage will result, and death within another couple of minutes.

    I will absolutely not be part of the thundering herd that spurs others on to “train” to put up massive numbers in a contest. I don’t want to have the possible aftermath on my conscience.

    It might be glory days now, but in time someone will pay the price, and then hindsight will be 20-20, as it always is.

    (OJ, save this post in the archives. May you never, ever, have to refer to it.)

  23. Anonymous said

    July 1, 2009 @ 12:06 pm

    First of all, Rhonda, Pound for Pound and Inch for Inch are two different animals. I thought was an argument about body weight.

    Second…Are you honestly implying that Joey and Sonya and Kobayashi have a need for the all of the calories they consume in an eating contest? That because Joey’s body probably needs more calories, it somehow aids his ability to eat more of hot dogs? NEWSFLASH: They’re going so far beyond what’s necessary to sustain life (their “extra blood and tissue,” as you put it), that even if Joey needs a few hundred extra hundred calories per day (which itself is questionable given Sonya’s apparently high metabolism), it doesn’t explain the margins of his victories over her. Seriously, don’t even try to correlate one’s performance in eating contest with the NEEDS of the body competing in it. If these guys stopped eating after eating what they needed, they would step away from the table after 7 or 8 hot dogs.

  24. Rhonda Evans said (Registered March 6, 2008)

    July 1, 2009 @ 12:45 pm

    Third you’ve lost the point. Go find an identity while you’re at it.

  25. Dr. Wendell Wiener MDHDBS said

    July 1, 2009 @ 12:49 pm

    This must be why certain eaters stop at 10 dogs. Their body has met their cholesterol, fat, grease, and grain needs. Truly their ability to stop at this precise moment represents a monumental acheivement.
    Those other consumers of Coney Island fame, are just beef brained bruisers who should be ashamed of going way over their physical and metabolistical needs. Who wants that embarassment?

    All that money and that big trophy, and that world-wide adulation, can’t possibly compensate for their grief and dismay at their miscalculations. If it will make them feel better, they can send me the money, which I will devote to my research on the subject, or, I will spend it on beer.

  26. Anonymous said

    July 1, 2009 @ 12:56 pm

    And you’ve lost the argument. You always do because you don’t know anything.

  27. Gastroboy The Def. Eater said

    July 1, 2009 @ 12:59 pm

    Ok Rhonda, I get your point and you’re right. Anyway, i think that risk fits way better in newcomers. I was thinking about pros. What i mean is, i think that when we talk about Sonya and Joey that risk doesn’t unbalance the risks and benefits each of their approachs have, and so I still think healthy is not the word that Sonya’s aproach deserves.

  28. Dr. Wendell Wiener MDHDBS said

    July 1, 2009 @ 1:01 pm

    Or, they can send the money to http://www.myspace.com/money4nothings Those dudes could use it

  29. Rhonda Evans said (Registered March 6, 2008)

    July 1, 2009 @ 1:13 pm

    What argument? You’re wallowing in your own make-believe world. Now have your brother go wear a Krystal!

  30. Anonymous said

    July 1, 2009 @ 1:22 pm

    You made some dumb Pound for Pound argument and then barely upgraded to a Height for Height argument when you realized that Pound for Pound doesn’t hold water. What’s next from you: Who’s a better eater Motivation for Motivation? Units of Beauty to Hot Dogs Ratio?

  31. Rhonda Evans said (Registered March 6, 2008)

    July 1, 2009 @ 1:31 pm

    Okay Gastro. I hear you. I think risk is on a continuum, and is positively correlated to frequency of speedeating, in any form, practice or contest. All eaters are somewhere on that continuum.

  32. Rhonda Evans said (Registered March 6, 2008)

    July 1, 2009 @ 2:15 pm

    You’re right about me seeming to jump ship from the pound-for-pound to the height issue. They are indeed two different issues. That was not my intention. I was trying to avoid the word “fat,” … okay. Other people read eatfeats besides you and I.

    But I still stand by what I initially said regarding the pound-for-pound issue, and I also wholeheartedly stand by the height / torso size contention. Not only does the latter issue make common sense, I bounced it off several docs in the DC area when I first started following CE, to ensure I wasn’t out in left field, because it seemed very obvious. Well, I was correct in my assertion.

    And I apologize for the sibling comment I made earlier. It was uncalled for … sorry. If nothing else, I will admit when I believe I’m wrong about something.

  33. anonymous said

    July 1, 2009 @ 2:29 pm

    Rhonda you must realize the longer the length of your post the more you set yourself up for this shit. The anonymous posters love to mess with you. You take this stuff way too personal. I mean really , who cares. argue about hot dogs??? What is this world coming to? When you look back at all the stuff you post you will one day come to realize it is a waste of your time and energy in my opinion.

  34. Rhonda Evans said (Registered March 6, 2008)

    July 1, 2009 @ 2:53 pm

    Gastro, I really have to give the edge to Joey on the 4th. Do I think that overall Joey’s a better eater? No, I don’t. But Joey has his number in HDBs by the slimmest of margins.

    I feel about Koby like I do Sonya, but even more emphatically, that if you put a utensil in his hand in any contest, it’s all over but the shoutin’, because Koby’s hand speed is just too blazin’. The only speed eater on this earth with speed to rival those two is Pat Bertoletti, and Juliet is not far behind.

    Generally speaking women are quicker with their hands than men. (I know I am, but in another capacity.)

  35. Mega Munch said

    July 1, 2009 @ 3:12 pm

    Another capacity? Rhonda, Rhonda, Rhonda…

  36. Gastroboy The Def. Eater said

    July 1, 2009 @ 3:20 pm

    I’m with Chesnut too, not that i like it – I think Koby is a better eater overall although not for the same reasons you do. When it comes down to hotdogs… Joey does it better. I think he claimed that he could do 70 in 10 min last year -and less clearly this year in the espn chat- and I don’t think Koby can handle so many hotdogs. I’m confident that if Joey didn’t start so fast he could do even more. That’s one of the things that i think makes koby a better eater, he has a more steady pace.

  37. No Pace Needed said

    July 1, 2009 @ 4:12 pm

    Joey finished first in Krystals, and Nathan’s for two years….who gives a rat’s hindparts about his pace. Joey finished first, that’s what makes him a better eater.

  38. Gastroboy The Def. Eater said

    July 1, 2009 @ 5:26 pm

    The fact that Chesnut won doesn’t necesary translate into “pace doesn’t matter”. I think it matters when you are aiming to eat your best. Anyway, you may think the opposite way around, cause keeping a steady pace doesn’t translate into “winning nathans or krystals” either in case you were trying to point that out. Anyway, it was just a comment, it’s not the main reason why i think Koby is better.

  39. WyattEarp said

    July 1, 2009 @ 8:28 pm

    If you don’t think Joey Chestnut is the best eater in the world, you’re a fool. I can’t wait for Saturday, to find out what Kobayashi’s excuse will be this year…maybe tennis elbow now.

  40. Rhonda Evans said (Registered March 6, 2008)

    July 2, 2009 @ 7:07 am

    Nathan’s is but one contest. Count the number of head-to-head battles between Joey and Koby. Koby’s count more than doubles Joey’s wins over him. Additionally, each time Joey has finished ahead of Koby it has been by the slimmest of margins, and has been on Joey’s home soil. Yet, Koby is still way ahead of Joey in that respect also.

    The one and only time Joey had to face Koby outside the US, but still outside of Koby’s home country, —- Singapore —- it wasn’t even close. Koby won by over two pounds (http://www.chinapost.com.tw/asia/singapore/2008/07/29/167700/Kobayashi-wins.htm).

    Then Koby roughs up Joey again in P’Zones, just recently, not only in Joey’s home country, but in his home state, and with US-ubiquitous food. (Maybe Joey should have practiced more, eh?)

    Take away the buns in HDBs and watch what happens —- witness Johnsonville Brats. Koby defeats Joey by over a dozen.

    Though I think Joey will win Saturday —- hell, he should —- overall, Koby is hands-down the better eater, and the one people world-wide identify with. And he’s not a bore.

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