Joey Chestnut

Joey Chestnut downed 63 hot dogs and buns to win his 15th title in the last 16 years. Miki Sudo won the women's championship.

Sudo holds the women’s record with 48½ hot dogs devoured in 2020, when she captured her seventh consecutive title. “New York is amazing and there’s no place like it in the world.” Japan’s Takeru Kobayashi has won the next most Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating titles with six straight from 2001 to 2006. Chestnut put the interloper in a brief chokehold before returning his attention to the hot dogs on the table in front of him. Chestnut opened an 11 hot dog lead three minutes into Monday’s event and cruised to his seventh straight title since he was upset by Matt Stonie in 2015. Chestnut, who arrived at Monday’s annual event on crutches with his lower right leg in a cast, downed 63 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes.

Joey Chestnut took matters into his own hands during the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, putting a protestor into a chokehold until security arrived.

Chestnut was well off his best Monday despite handily winning the Mustard Belt for the seventh time in a row by devouring 63 frankfurters. As security rushed to remove the protestor, Chestnut briefly took matters into his own hands – literally. A bizarre incident unfolded Monday early on in the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest when a protestor rushed the stage and bumped into 15-time champion Joey Chestnut.

Joey Chestnut is likely the greatest competitive eater in history, but he'll have a bit of a challenge when he takes the stage on Coney Island on Monday.

Chestnut could break his own record during Monday’s event. Chestnut arrived to the event’s official weigh-in on crutches Friday, though he insists the injury won’t impact his performance. “I’m gonna eat like a madman,” Chestnut told Fox News Digital. “It’s all right.

Joey Chestnut helped take down a protester who rushed the stage as he was competing in the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. Watch the incident here.

He finished 15.5 hot dogs ahead of second-place Geoffrey Esper, the No. 2-ranked eater. One of the protesters -- wearing a Darth Vader mask and holding a sign that read "Expose Smithfield Deathstar" -- bumped Chestnut out of position as he was downing his 18th hot dog. While the competitive-eating legend was in the midst of winning the 2022 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest for the 15th time on Sunday in Brooklyn, protesters rushed the stage.

US icon downs 63 hot dogs, takes out protestor in 'most American thing I've ever seen'

The “GOAT” had shocked the competitive-eating world Friday when he showed up to his official weigh-in on crutches. Chestnut’s dominant performance came despite a brief interruption by an animal-rights protester who rushed him at one point as he was gobbling down dogs. His dominant victory Monday marked the first time since 2019 that the competition was held at its usual location, the original Nathan’s at Surf Avenue and Stillwell Avenue in Coney Island, Brooklyn.

Joey Chestnut is one of the most famous -- or infamous -- competitive eaters in the world. While he competes in all manner of competitions, ...

Chestnut won both the hot dog competition and a worldwide pumpkin pie eating contest in Jacksonville in 2021. Chestnut set a new record for most hot dogs eaten in 10 minutes at the 2021 Nathan's contest, housing 76 in total. That year, Chestnut qualified for his first Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest and ate 32 hot dogs. He has his record up to 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes, set in 2021 after eating 75 in 2020. That year, he won his fifth straight Mustard Belt, awarded to the winner of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. While he competes in all manner of competitions, July 4's Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest is his Groundhog Day. It's the day competitive eating takes center stage, and Chestnut never disappoints.

One of the most anticipated events of the 4th of July saw hot-dogging at its most American on Monday. Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, 38, scarfed down 63 hot dogs and ...

In the clip, three protesters dressed in Darth Vader and Storm Trooper costumes shove their way onto the stage. Competitive eater Miki Sudo, 36, also took home a win at the event for the women’s division of the competition. The footage, which went unaired by ESPN, made the rounds on social media.

Joey Chestnut helped take down a protester who rushed the stage as he was competing in the 2022 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. Watch the incident here.

He finished 15.5 hot dogs ahead of second-place Geoffrey Esper, the No. 2-ranked eater. One of the protesters -- wearing a Darth Vader mask and holding a sign that read "Expose Smithfield Deathstar" -- bumped Chestnut out of position as he was downing his 18th hot dog. While the competitive-eating legend was in the midst of winning the 2022 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest for the 15th time on Sunday in Brooklyn, protesters rushed the stage.

Joey Chestnut continued his dominance of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest with his 15th title,

Chestnut took matters into his own hands, grabbing the person by the neck before throwing him to the ground, per Scott Gleeson of USA Today. Security was able to get the person off the stage while Chestnut and the rest of the field continued with the competition. Joey Chestnut continued his dominance of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest with his 15th title, but Monday's event was far from routine.

Chestnut won his 15th title, and Sudo her 8th. What makes them such top dogs?

Presumably, Chestnut and Sudo are able to do most or all of the above better than others. Finally, they need to have enough muscle and a high enough metabolism to burn all the calories and handle all of the salt that they consume. That’s why you may be more likely to tell your host at a dinner party, “I don’t think I could eat another hot dog,” rather than “I don’t think I could eat forty more hot dogs.” Competitive eaters, on the other hand, have to somehow delay, ignore, and overcome these cues and keep putting food where their mouth is. It also helps to be able to expand their esophagi and relax their lower esophageal sphincters, which normally control the junctions between the lower esophagi and stomachs. A typical hot dog made of beef or pork will consist of around 6 grams of protein, 14 grams of fat, 3 grams of carbs, and 562 milligrams of sodium, totaling 162 calories, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). That means 40 hot dogs would be well over 6,000 calories. (Yes, “esophagi” is the plural of “esophagus” in case you haven’t ever had to mention more than one esophagus in a sentence.) This isn’t just dancing to the surrounding music. It’s to physically move the mass of food down their esophagi, again like squeezing toothpaste. Both were top dogs once again in the men’s and women’s competitions, respectively, at the 2022 Nathan's Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest. Sudo has been practically as dominant as Chestnut, having won the women’s competition for the eighth time in nine years. During the contest, a protestor wearing a Darth Vader mask rushed the stage. While this didn’t top his own world record of 76 hot dogs set at last year’s event, he did continue his remarkable roll.

En route to his 15th career win at the famous Fourth of July event, Chestnut had to contend with a protestor while chowing down.

He eventually finished the day with 63 hot dogs downed. Shortly after downing his 17th dog, protestors stormed the platform dressed in Star Wars garb and holding signs reading “Expose Smithfield’s Death Star,” an apparent protest against pork producer Smithfield Foods. Chestnut was uninterested in being thrown off his stride. Chestnut put the protestor in a headlock and quickly threw him aside before carrying on with the hot dog eating procedures.

US man Joey "Jaws" Chestnut powers his way to a 15th win at a hot dog eating competition in New York City, but not without an unusual intervention from a ...

And, you know, you might actually just come out victorious." From dad's arms, the baby watched his 36-year-old mother notch her eighth win. Champion competitive eater Joey "Jaws" Chestnut has gobbled his way to a 15th win in New York's annual Fourth of July hot dog eating competition.

Frankfurter-munching phenom Joey “Jaws” Chestnut put a protester in a chokehold while gobbling his way to a 15th win Monday at the Nathan's Famous Fourth of ...

Sudo, of Tampa, Fla., set the women’s record at 48 1/2 weiners and buns in 2020, before taking last year off while expecting. “It hurts, but I was in the zone for a little bit. Chestnut put the protester in a brief chokehold before contest officials hurried over and escorted the intruder away.

Joey Chestnut helped take down a protester who rushed the stage as he was competing in the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. Watch the incident here.

He finished 15.5 hot dogs ahead of second-place Geoffrey Esper, the No. 2-ranked eater. One of the protesters -- wearing a Darth Vader mask and holding a sign that read "Expose Smithfield Deathstar" -- bumped Chestnut out of position as he was downing his 18th hot dog. While the competitive-eating legend was in the midst of winning the 2022 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest for the 15th time on Sunday in Brooklyn, protesters rushed the stage.

I'm talking, of course, about Joey Chestnut. The hot dog GOAT. The 38-year-old competitive eater went into yesterday's Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest as the ...

Oh, you need more proof that the hot dog king is an athlete? You can’t teach that stuff. You can’t coach that stuff. There were no excuses. This competition aired on ESPN (well, technically ESPNNews, which is apparently still a thing) and that network is a sports network that only airs sports. If your event is shown on ESPN then it’s a sport.

The 2022 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest was interrupted by a Star Wars-costumed protester, who messed up by standing next to champ Joey Chestnut.

But instead of just preaching awareness, the one protester should have been aware of his own surroundings when he bumped into Joey Chestnut as he was in the midst of eating his 18th hot dog. With only a brief hesitation, during which you have to imagine a thousand different things fluttered through his mind, Joey Chestnut stopped his eating rhythm and took the dude down from behind with ease before security jumped in. But beyond all the men and women stuffing their faces with processed meat and water-soaked buns, this year’s event unfortunately also featured a surprise visitor by way of a protestor wearing a Darth Vader mask.

Joey Chestnut won his seventh consecutive Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest title and 15th overall with a ridiculous 63 hot dogs and buns eaten in 10 minutes. The ...

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The reigning champion showed up injured to the annual event and still managed to take down a protester that interrupted the competition.

Similar to Chestnut, Sudo fell short of breaking her previous women's record of 48.5 hot dogs set in 2020. ESPN reported the breach inhibited the event to the point that gambling sites including FanDuel and DraftKings gave refunds on over/under bets, which had been set at 74.5 hot dogs. But he was only able to choke down 63 dogs this year (still beating second place finisher Geoffrey Esper by 15.5 dogs) and was hindered by two setbacks: one before the event and one during.

In an interview the day after he inhaled 63 hot dogs at the annual Fourth of July competition, the winner recalled feeling "confused" when he spotted the ...

“After he got out of the way, I was thinking about my rhythm, and if I could get into eating fast, and I was able to. I was able to keep going.” “I didn’t know what he was doing,” he continued. I think it was a total of like, four seconds.” “When he got in front of me … I didn’t know if he was gonna attack me. “I was just confused.

Joey Chestnut took down an animal activist who rushed the stage wearing a Darth Vader mask.

I was ignoring it," he said. "When he got in front of me … I didn't know if he was gonna attack me. "I was just confused.

An American sports icon keeps the crown despite delay from activist.

While he easily outpaced every other schmuck in the competition, he didn’t come close to beating his own personal record of 76 dogs in 10 minutes, delayed by his self-defense maneuver. Chestnut hasn’t had a real rival since the early retirement of Takeru Kobayashi, whose story we also told this weekend in our coverage of the greatest sport that the Fourth of July has to offer (jumping out of the way of the fireworks your uncle brought to the backyard came in at a close second). Just as the Founding Fathers would have wanted, Joey Chestnut maintained his title as America’s Hot Dog King this weekend, capturing his 15th title at Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on Monday. But he hasn’t let his continued success make him lazy or entitled — no, his instincts are sharp as ever as he multitasked his way through scarfing down 63 hot dogs in front of an adoring crowd, taking down a stage-stormer while he did it.

Joey Chestnut's victory at the 2022 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest was never in doubt on the Fourth of July. He won by 20.

Joey Chestnut said he "felt bad" about taking down an animal rights activist who took the stage during the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest.

I couldn’t see how close I was to him and I kind of nudged him. “I was just trying to get my message out there and my organization’s message out there. “The end result of that effort on their part was to make Joey into an epic hero if he already wasn’t one, which he was,’’ Shea said. “I was trying to get in front of him. I had the mask on and my peripheral vision was hindered. Chestnut said people's reaction to how he handled the protester has been mixed. “I was freaked out a little bit because he had the mask on,’’ Chestnut said. And then when I saw the video, it was Joey. I was surprised.’’ You’re in the heat of the moment, this is really intense, he’s trained a lot for it, it means a lot to him. “But in my position, I don’t know, I had been waiting a long time for the contest and I wish (Gilbertson) had just stood by me and I never would have touched him. I assumed it was a security guard. I was just amped up, just focused on getting back to eating.

Chestnut was seen grabbing a protester in the middle of a competition and ripping him to the ground. The vicious chokehold drew plenty of attention on social ...

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Chestnut finished well below the line of 74.5 hot dogs after stopping to put an animal rights activist in a brief chokehold.

The New York Police Department charged three men Tuesday in relation to the incident. The incident lasted just a few seconds but was deemed enough to let those over bettors off the hook. “When he got in front of me … I didn’t know if he was going to attack me.

Joey Chestnut's reaction to an onstage protestor at the 2022 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest went viral. He wishes that it never happened.