What's The Record For Most Eaten At Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest?

Every year on July 4th, before the festivities and fireworks, there is a different kind of celebration but one that is equally American — Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. Thousands of spectators gather at the hot dog chain's original location on Coney Island, with millions more watching at home (on ESPN, no less) as top professional eaters compete for the coveted title of hot dog eating champion. While eating delicious hot dogs may not sound like as much of a challenge as other competitive sports, the truth is that the best hot dog eaters are actually performing a remarkable physical feat. A scientific study found that some of the best professional eaters could out-eat a grizzly bear!

The rarefied space occupied by record-holding hot dog eaters is not easily reached. The competition starts with a round of qualifier events across the country, and only one male and female contestant from each event is selected for the main event on July 4th. As in any sport, the record for the most number of hot dogs eaten in 10 minutes has been broken a few times, and often by the same person — Joey Chestnut aka Jaws. On the women's side, Miki Sudo has fought for, claimed, and retained the title several times.

Interestingly, the aforementioned scientific study yielded another interesting result — the maximum number of hot dogs a human could theoretically eat in 10 minutes is 83. While the current record hasn't reached this alleged "human limit," the number is getting close.

Joey Chestnut has been eating his way to victory since 2005 and dethroned reigning champ Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi at Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in 2007 by downing 66 hot dogs, making a new world record. However, this was just the start as Chestnut then went on to win the competition a whopping 15 more times, breaking his own record repeatedly. In 2013, while eating 69 hot dogs to retain his title and break his record from the previous year (68), the Mustard Belt veteran consumed the equivalent of 12,000 calories!

However, it appeared that Chestnut still had some hunger left, because he continued to top his records until, in 2021, he ate 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes. This converts to over 16 pounds of food consumed in 10 minutes, which is like 64 Quarter Pounders. The record has so far remained unbroken, which is expected since Jaws was in the habit of surpassing competitors by a significant margin. Considering Joey Chestnut can't compete in the 2024 edition of Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, it's possible the record could stand for a few years.

The women's hot dog-eating record holder is currently Miki Sudo, whose 2020 gobbling of 48.5 hot dogs remains unbeaten. Sudo is also competitive eating royalty, having won her 9th title in 2023. Like Chestnut, she is also in the habit of beating competing eaters by double-digit spreads.

Because of its popularity, Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest draws competitors from around the world, and many of them take the event very seriously. Apart from bragging rights and a $10,000 reward, winners can snap up sponsorship deals like any other major athlete. The July 4 hot dog eating contest is fittingly sponsored by an antacid company and organized by Major League Eating — a body that oversees competitive eating sports.

Competitive eaters often spend months preparing by consuming large amounts of fibrous food, water, or milk in a short time to stretch their stomachs. Joey Chestnut starts getting in shape for the competition months in advance by doing trial rounds, with each trial round preceded by a week of preparation. Everything from running, yoga, mouth and jaw exercises to a two-day stomach cleanse are part of his practice.

The results of all this prep are astounding, and a 2020 scientific study by Dr. James M. Smoliga published by The Royal Society labels them "biologically impressive." Unlike mainstream sports, where successive records and results have increased by approximately 40% over the last 40 years, eating competition results have improved by 700%. While partially attributed to the evolving composition of hot dogs and buns, most of the credit goes to the remarkable ability of human gut elasticity. Essentially, even with Joey Chestnut's hiatus, we can look forward to new hot dog-eating records being set.