There is a poetic beauty in celebrating the birth of the United States of America by watching someone eat a repulsive number of frankfurters as fast as possible. To that end, the eyes of the nation turned, once more, to Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York, to watch Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest and gaze in wonderment at the athletic prowess of one Joey “Jaws” Chestnut.
Chestnut consumed 76 dogs in 10 minutes, winning his 14th Mustard Belt and setting a new world record by besting his 2020 win by one hotdog. He further secured his space as the winningest athlete of a single event in sports history. What a world.
This year’s competition was held at Maimonides Park, a short stroll down the boardwalk from the original 106-year-old Nathan’s Famous restaurant in Coney Island. The stadium is host to the Brooklyn Cyclones, the minor league affiliate of the New York Mets, but there is nothing “minor league” about the vacuum-mouthed Chestnut, also known as the Glizzy Gladiator.
As ESPN’s commentators noted, if you stacked all the hot dogs Chestnut has consumed in competition, it would be higher than the Statue of Liberty, and he’s got the Chrysler Building in his line of sight.
Sports and nitrates enthusiasts celebrated Chestnut’s win on social media.
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