Nathan’s Hot Dog Contest category

Nathan’s personal bests

The following is a list of all the Nathan’s Famous personal bests for competitors with a known result in the database.

2018 Jul 4 74 Joey “Jaws” Chestnut Brooklyn, NY
2009 Jul 4 64.5 Takeru Kobayashi Brooklyn, NY
2018 Jul 4 64 Carmen Cincotti Brooklyn, NY
2015 Jul 4 62 Matt “Megatoad” Stonie Brooklyn, NY
2009 Jul 4 55 Pat “Deep Dish” Bertoletti Brooklyn, NY
2009 Jul 4 53 Tim “Eater X” Janus Brooklyn, NY
2017 Jun 18 51 Geoffrey Esper Boston, MA
2019 Jul 4 50 Darron Breeden Brooklyn, NY
2012 Jul 4 45 Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas Brooklyn, NY
2012 Jul 4 45 Bob “The Notorious B.O.B.” Shoudt Brooklyn, NY

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American Fast Food Stories has posted a behind the scenes video from the 2019 Nathan's finals.

Highest Nathan’s Famous averages

This is the same list of Nathan’s Famous hot dog results posted yesterday sorted by contest average.

# Total Avg. Max.
18 Joey “Jaws” Chestnut 1068.00 59.33 74
9 Takeru Kobayashi 487.75 54.19 64.5
7 Carmen Cincotti 324.00 46.29 64
15 Matt “Megatoad” Stonie 683.00 45.53 62
7 Darron Breeden 291.00 41.57 50
22 Tim “Eater X” Janus 900.75 40.94 53
11 Geoffrey Esper 437.75 39.80 51
4 Max Suzuki 156.50 39.12 42.5
16 Pat “Deep Dish” Bertoletti 617.75 38.61 55
8 Miki Sudo 299.50 37.44 41

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Cumulative Nathan’s hot dog totals

The following is a list of the cumulative totals from both qualifiers and finals (excluding exhibitions) for all Nathan’s Famous hot dog competitors along with the maximum and average totals. The left column is the number of contests for the competitor with a known result. These statistics will not be 100% accurate as full contests results are not always posted.

# Total Avg. Max.
18 Joey “Jaws” Chestnut 1068.00 59.33 74
39 Eric “Badlands” Booker 1037.75 26.61 40
22 Tim “Eater X” Janus 900.75 40.94 53
43 Crazy Legs Conti 862.33 20.05 25.25
25 Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas 847.00 33.88 45
30 Erik “The Red” Denmark 832.25 27.74 38
28 Rich “The Locust” LeFevre 777.75 27.78 34
27 “The Lovely” Juliet Lee 756.25 28.01 36
23 Bob “The Notorious B.O.B.” Shoudt 731.50 31.80 45
50 William “Wild Bill” Myers 697.25 13.94 17

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Joey Chestnut guarantees he will break the Nathan's hot dog eating contest record on July 4 in an interview with TMZ.com. He is hoping for a total of 77 hot dogs and believes the indoor setting will bolster his performance. In his previous indoor Nathan's contest, the 2007 Arizona Mills qualifier, he broke the existing record with a total of 59.5 hot dogs.
At the 17:30 mark of an interview with Zach Krantz, George Shea says that the July 4 Nathan's contest will be the final MLE event of 2020. There are currently 4 events after July 4 on the MLE calendar: 2 Buffalo Wingfest contests, Smoke's Poutinerie in Toronto and Lewisville, TX tamales. He also says that the July 4 contests will be 10 minutes long and that 5 or 6 entrants will compete in the men's division of Nathan's.
The Hampton Beach (NH) Seafood Festival announced it would not be held in 2020. The September festival held a lobster roll eating contest awarding $1000.

2020 Nathan’s finals to be held without fans

updateMiki Sudo recorded a video about the contest. She says (around 3:00) that the field will not be selected solely on MLE ranking but that geographic location and media availability will also be considered.

A press release (screen capture) announces that the July 4, 2020 Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating contest will be held without fans at an undisclosed Coney Island location. Five men and five women will compete; defending champions Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo are the only listed competitors. ESPN will televise the contest at noon Eastern with Mike Golic, Jr. replacing Adam Amin as commentator. The women’s division will be broadcast on ESPN or ESPN2 for the first time with a starting time of 12:20 pm. The Wall Street Journal has a paywalled article.

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The episode of ESPN's Cheap Seats in which the Sklar brothers commentate on the telecast of the 2004 Nathan's Famous finals can be viewed on youtube.
ConeyIslandHistory.com has an article containing an audio interview with Melody Andorfer, winner of the 1972 Labor Day Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest. She is officially requesting a champions belt from Major League Eating.
The Iowa State Fair announced the cancellation of its 2020 edition today. A Nathan's Famous hot dog eating qualifier had been held at the August event from 2017 to 2019.
The July 4 schedule for the ESPN family of networks is now available, and the 2020 Nathan's finals are not currently listed. ESPN's schedule for noon Eastern has "Great American Events", which could be a placeholder for the competition.
The New York Daily News reports that Guardian Angels founder suffered injuries after defending a Manhattan Foot Locker from looters Tuesday. He competed in several Nathan's finals in the 1990s, finishing 3rd in 1994.
Joey Chestnut posted a picture of a practice session for 2020 Nathan's hot dog eating contest to his instagram.
Joey Chestnut did an interview on KROQ yesterday. He says that Nathan's hopes to have some type of July 4 competition, but plans have yet to be fixed. They are looking at a Brooklyn site for the event away from the traditional Coney Island venue.
The New York Times has an article about Feltman's Hot Dogs which also covers the history of Coney Island frankfurters. The pandemic has reportedly resulted in a surge for hot dog purchases, with sales for Nathan's Famous increasing by over 50%.
OddsCovers.com has a list of bets offered on the 2020 Nathan's finals. Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo remain the favorites. One of the wagers offered is PETA activists disrupting the competition. Betting against this proposition (bet $1400 to win $100) could be free money if the contest is held without spectators.
News 12 reports that Coney Island USA will cancel or postpone all their programming for the forseeable future. One of the non profit organization's events is the Mermaid Parade. The article did not mention Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest.

Smithfield Foods Sioux Falls meatpacking plant to resume operations

The New York Times reports that Smithfield Foods meatpacking plant in Sioux Falls, SD, which has been labeled as the top coronavirus hotspot in the USA, will resume operations tomorrow. One of the products the facility produces is Nathan’s Famous hot dogs.

In Sioux Falls, S.D., where the virus sickened more than 1,000 people at a Smithfield pork processing plant, the outbreak appears to be slowing, Mayor Paul TenHaken said. More than 4,000 Smithfield employees, their family members and close contacts, were recently tested.

Yet the mayor fears that his city’s progress could be temporary. On Monday, the plant will begin slaughtering hogs again. Hundreds of employees will be back together at work.

“I’ll be honest, it makes me nervous,” Mr. TenHaken said. “We’ve seen how a zero-case facility can become a 1,000-case facility.”

Nathan’s Famous did not expect the closure to have a negative impact on hot dog supply in a SEC document from April.

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AMNY on Coney Island 2020

AMNY has an article about the prospects for Coney Island which includes quotes from George Shea on options for Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating contest:

The popular Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest also hangs, in the balance with several proposals by George Shea, the organizer and “ring master” of the event, as he tries to find an alternative way to hold the Independence Day hot dog extravaganza that normally attracts thousands.

The contest itself isn’t officially canceled. Shea is looking at ways to hold the July 4 ‘gorgefest’ behind closed doors, possibly without a crowd as Major League Baseball is proposing.

Shea, the eternal optimist, is being hit badly by the pandemic. Many of his projects involve large crowds.

“We can hold the Hot Dog Eat contest with 10 people if we needed,” said Shea, who views the contest as American as apple pie and a proud Fourth of July tradition.

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Joey Chestnut did an interview for News 12 which reports that representatives from MLE are not sure if the 2020 Nathan's finals will take place in 2020.
The New York Post reports that Adam Amin, who has been a commentator for ESPN on recent Nathan's Famous finals, will be leaving for Fox Sports.
A FactSquared database indicates that Nathan's Famous has repaid the $1.2M loan they received from the federal government intended for small businesses impacted by coronavirus.
The Giant National Capital BBQ Battle has rebranded itself as a "Virtual Experience", so a Nathan's qualifier will probably not take place in Washington, DC on June 27 or 28. In February, Washington, DC was listed as a planned site on the 2020 qualifier circuit. Nathan's qualifiers have been held at the festival from 2016-2019.
The Ocean City (MD) Air Show announces that it will be postponed and hopes to be rescheduled in July or August. A Nathan's qualifier was to have been held at the event on June 13.
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