Madison.com has an article about the choking incident at a Lake Mills, WI hot dog eating contest on February 2. The victim, Tim Vogel, was intoxicated with a blood alcohol level of .32. (Turn off JavaScript to bypass paywall)

Vogel’s ribs, some of which had cracked under the weight of compressions, held lungs filled with fluid, and an oxygen machine was doing at least 60% of his breathing for him, Dorn said. He was coughing up blood.

“I didn’t even know for probably about 15 hours if he was going to make it,” Dorn said.

Once he was conscious and showing signs of improvement, doctors placed Vogel on a temporary liquid diet due to the trauma in his throat; he jokingly lamented that he hadn’t been able to finish his hot dogs.

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update JSonline.com has a contest report

Official results (10 minutes):

The live youtube video has started. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is also doing live Instagram stories.

Joey Chestnut did an interview for Outkick about today’s contest for Outkick. He says that the leg injury that afflicted him in 2022 is fully behind him and he hopes to his a record total in the high 70s in this year’s Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating contest.

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Some shocking and tragic news:

In the early morning of November 19, Aaron Osthoff forced his way into the home of Megan Breuer in Potosi (in southwest Wisconsin about 20 miles from Osthoff’s hometown of Dubuque, Iowa). She called 911 and after police arrived, Osthoff fired his gun multiple times. He severely injured Breuer and then took his own life with his firearm. She was hospitalized and was listed in stable condition as of November 22. Police said that Breuer and Osthoff knew each other, but no additional information about their relationship has been divulged.

Osthoff was a member of Major League Eating from 2011 to 2014. He competed in the 2011, 2013 and 2014 Nathan’s finals, finishing 6th in the men’s division in 2013. In 2012, Osthoff and his wife Heather both qualified for the Nathan’s July 4 championship, but they did not participate in that competition that year. In 2015, Osthoff retired from Major League Eating. He concluded his competitive eating career with a victory in the Dubuque Wing Bowl later that year.

In February 2020, Osthoff was featured in a New York Time article about his acquisition of a copy of the House Judiciary Committee’s impeachment report that was autographed by former President Trump. The document was sold by Goldin Auctions for a price of $81,180.

On June 30, 2021, Osthoff’s 20 year old daughter Brielle took her own life. Her struggle with mental health was the subject of a September article by the Telegraph Herald. The Osthoffs have two other children: Brittany Murphrey and Brock Osthoff.

Osthoff’s social media offers minimal clues into what might have triggered the tragedy. His final facebook post on November 17 was an uncaptioned picture of himself in a room with no visible items other than high heeled shoes on a shelf. His twitter and instagram have not been updated for over a year.

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