Eating superstar Joey “Jaws” Chestnut shook off a rain delay and gobbled his way to another win at Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest, downing 62 franks and buns in 10 minutes.
Chestnut out ate runner-up Geoffrey Esper and the rest of an international field of 15 competitive eaters by double digits to clinch his eighth straight Mustard Belt and 16th overall. Esper, of Oxford, Massachusetts, managed to ingest 49 hot dogs and buns.
In the women’s contest, defending champion Miki Sudo forced down 39½ hot dogs and buns to collect her ninth Mustard Belt. But before the men could compete, stormy weather moved over New York City’s Coney Island and delayed the competition for two hours.
“What a roller coaster, emotionally,” Chestnut said after riding out the rain and wondering whether the famed contest would go on at all. The 39-year-old from Westfield, Indiana, first competed for the Nathan’s title in 2005 and hasn’t lost it since 2015.
He ate 63 hot dogs and buns last year to win the title, but he had an interruption. A protestor wearing a Darth Vader costume came on stage, and Chestnut put him in a…
