Category — Eating Contest

Joey Chestnut beat his previous record by eating 68 hot dogs & buns (HDB) in 10 minutes, nine more than in 2008, setting new event, American, and world records. He became the second person to win three consecutive titles. Kobayashi ate 64.5 HDB, setting a Japanese record, & Patrick Bertoletti placed third with 55 HDB. Chestnut improved his HDB/Minute in 2009’s contest to 6.8 from the 5.9 he had in 2008. Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas breaks her own female record with 41 HDB.

The IFOCE Nathan’s International July Fourth Hot Dog Eating Contest is an annual competitive eating competition held at Nathan’s Famous Corporation’s original and best-known restaurant at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York. The event is held on July 4, and is regarded as the world’s most famous hot dog eating contest and a colorful tradition of Independence Day in the United States. In 2006, over 30,000 spectators attended the event, and an additional 1.5 million households watched it live on ESPN.[1]

The 94th annual contest was held on July 4, 2009. Six-time champion Takeru “Tsunami” Kobayashi and two-time defending champion Joey Chestnut were the favorites going into the contest; Chestnut prevailed by setting a new record of 68 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. Kobayashi was second with 64½. The contest was televised live on ESPN, which has held the broadcast rights for this event since 2004.[2]