(New York) Patrick Bertoletti gobbled up 58 hot dogs to win his first men’s title at New York’s annual Fourth of July hot dog eating contest on Thursday, taking advantage of the absence of the event’s biggest star. On the women’s side, defending champion Miki Sudo won her 10e championship and set a new world record by eating 51 hot dogs.
Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, the reigning men’s champion and winner of 16 of the last 17 competitions, did not compete this year because of a sponsorship dispute. Instead, he competed later in the day against four soldiers from the El Paso, Texas, base, where he devoured 57 hot dogs in five minutes.
Bertoletti, 39, of Chicago, won a tight 10-minute race that saw several participants trade leads, beating 13 competitors from around the world. Bertoletti said he had lost weight and trained for three months with “a sense of urgency” to prepare for the event, believing he had a good chance of winning.
“With Joey not being here, I knew I had a chance,” he said. “I was able to unlock something that I don’t know where it came from.”
Bertoletti broke his record of 55 hot dogs at the event, which takes place every Independence Day on New York’s Coney Island, a beach destination with amusement parks and a carnival-like summer culture.
PHOTO JULIA NIKHINSON, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Miki Sudo
Earlier in the women’s competition, Miki Sudo, a 38-year-old dental hygienist from Florida, again dominated the day and set a new record, a year after she ate 39 and a half hot dogs.
“I’m just happy to say it’s mine for another year,” Sudo said after winning the pink belt.
Sudo defeated 13 opponents, including 28-year-old Japanese rival Mayoi Ebihara, who finished second by eating 37 hot dogs. She was also the runner-up in 2023.
Sudo also beat her partner, former Florida bodybuilder Nicholas Wehry, who ate 46 hot dogs in the men’s competition.
Bertoletti’s victory marks the first time the famous mustard belt has been awarded to someone other than Joey Chestnut since 2015.