Nathan’s competitors to face off in ‘anybody’s game’
CONEY ISLAND — The top spot in Nathan’s annual Fourth of July hot dog-eating contest is anyone’s to claim this year after returning champion Joey Chestnut was barred from the competition for endorsing a vegan meat company, reports the New York Post. 14 hopefuls will vie to consume as many dogs as possible within the ten-minute time limit for a prize of $20,000 and to surpass Chestnut’s record of 71 dogs from last year. 2023 runner-up Geoffrey Esper, a Massachusetts high school teacher by trade and strawberry shortcake specialist at heart, is a favorite for the crown, as is 2023 third-place James Webb, an Aussie who has been training in the U.S. for the competition for weeks, and 2023 fourth-place Nick Wehry, who holds the world record for eating 50 hard-boiled eggs. All are veteran competitive eating experts, most with histories of heavy-hitting at the contest in past years.
“I think it will be a dog fight that might even be won by a quarter of a hot dog… With Joey out, you will see five or six guys really push each other.” nine-time women’s champion Miki Sudo told the Post.
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