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At this point, nary Fourth of July is complete without Joey Chestnut.
Americans everyplace will tally to their tv sets astatine noon connected America's 250th birthday arsenic nan world's top eater will purpose to eat 1 basking canine for each twelvemonth nan U.S. has been successful existence.
OK, that mightiness beryllium a stretch, but it is already a foregone conclusion that Chestnut will gain his 18th Mustard Yellow Belt successful 19 attempts connected Saturday afternoon.
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Joey Chestnut wins nan men's title astatine Nathan's Annual Hot Dog Eating Contest successful New York City connected July 4, 2025. He returned to compete for a 17th triumph aft missing nan 2024 arena owed to a sponsorship conflict pinch Major League Eating. (Adam Gray/Getty Images)
The greatness began successful 2007, ending a tally of six consecutive titles won by erstwhile GOAT Takeru Kobayashi, who really injured his jaw up of that contest. Chestnut's 66 basking dogs defeated Kobayashi's 63 successful a preview of a legendary profession to follow.
A rivalry ensued betwixt nan two, pinch Chestnut narrowly beating Kobayashi nan adjacent 2 years, including via a tiebreaking eat-off successful 2008. When Kobayashi was banned from nan arena successful 2010, Chestnut took off.
Chestnut had won each title from 2007 done 2014, but he was nan unfortunate of a monolithic upset successful 2015 to Matt Stonie, losing 62-60. But Stonie's glory was short-lived, and Chestnut went connected to triumph each of nan adjacent 8 events.
There was a caller champion successful 2024, but not because Chestnut mislaid - he really was barred from competing aft signing a marque woody pinch a Nathan's rival. After overmuch backmost and forth, Chestnut was allowed backmost successful for nan 2025 arena pinch conscionable weeks to spare, and he reclaimed nan title pinch 70.5 dogs and buns.
Joey Chestnut visits "The Claman Countdown" pinch big Liz Claman astatine Fox Business Network Studios connected July 02, 2025 successful New York City. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
JOEY CHESTNUT REFLECTS ON RETURN TO HOT DOG EATING CONTEST AFTER CONTRACT DISPUTE, TEMPORARY BAN
"It was great. The assemblage is awesome, it's electric. It's bully to beryllium backmost aft mending immoderate fences," Chestnut precocious told Fox News Digital of his return past year. "I do what I love. I sewage nan champion occupation successful nan world. I get to eat, travel, hit nan heck retired of people, and meet happy people. So it was awesome to beryllium back."
Not each of Chestnut's titles person travel easily. In 2022, Chestnut's eating was interrupted by a protester, but he miraculously put him successful a chokehold and went backmost to business; he still managed to down 63 dogs and buns.
Even his apt title connected Saturday will not travel without a wrinkle, arsenic his 2026 eligibility was really successful uncertainty for a small spot amid a charge of battery. Chestnut drunkenly slapped a man astatine a barroom successful Indiana and pleaded blameworthy to nan complaint successful April. He is presently serving 180 days of probation, but was granted support to recreation for nan event.
His all-time grounds is 76, which he group backmost successful 2021. It collapsed his ain grounds of 75 from nan twelvemonth prior, which hit different erstwhile grounds of 74 from 2018.
And while astir are watching for 1 reason, Chestnut believes that this arena is overmuch much than conscionable watching him.
FILE - Joey Chestnut, victor of nan 2021 Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest, poses for photos successful Coney Island's Maimonides Park, July 4, 2021, successful nan Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman, File)
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"It's ne'er astir me," he said to Fox News successful May. "It's not moreover astir nan basking dogs. It's nan Fourth of July. It's an eating contest, but really, it's a Fourth of July celebration, it's a ceremony successful New York. And that contest, it's difficult to picture exactly.
"It's an event, it's much than conscionable an eating contest. It's portion of nan Fourth of July ceremony for New York City, and I'm conscionable a very small portion of it. And erstwhile it comes to that celebration, I'm very happy that I was capable to travel backmost and beryllium portion of people's Fourth of July."
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