Patrick Bertoletti swallowed 58 hot dogs to win his first men’s title Thursday at the annual Nathan’s Famous July 4 contest, taking advantage of the absence of the event’s biggest star. In the women’s competition, defending champion Miki Sudowon his 10th title and set a new world record by eating 51 sausages.
Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, winner of 16 of the previous 17 competitions, did not attend this year due to a dispute with a sponsor. Instead, he competed against four soldiers at a U.S. Army base in El Paso, Texas, where He gobbled up 57 hot dogs in five minutes.
Bertoletti won a tight 10-minute race in which the lead was in flux. The 39-year-old defeated 13 competitors from different parts of the world. He said he had lost weight and practiced for three months with “urgency” for the test, thinking he had a good chance of winning.
“Without Joey here, I knew I had a chance,” he said. “I was able to unlock something I didn’t know where it came from.”
The man surpassed his previous record of 55 hot dogs at the event, which takes place every Independence Day at New York’s Coney Island, a waterfront destination with amusement parks and a carnival-like summer culture.
Earlier in the women’s competition, Sudo, a 38-year-old dental hygiene student from Florida, won again and set the new record a year after gobbling down 39 and a half hot dogs in 2023.
“I’m glad this is another year for me,” said Sudo after winning the pink belt.
Sudo beat out 13 competitors, including 28-year-old Japanese Mayoi Ebihara, who came second after eating 37 hot dogs. Ebihara was also runner-up in 2023.
Bertoletti’s victory marks the first time that the famed mustard belt has been given to someone other than Chestnut since 2015.
Thousands of fans flock to the event each year, which takes place outside Nathan’s original location in Coney Island.
Competitors come from dozens of states and five continents, with contestants from countries including Brazil, Japan, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Australia and the Czech Republic seeking to take home the coveted title and the $10,000 prize.