Fourth of July celebrations are in full force, fire up the BBQ’s, ice down the beer and bring on the hot dog eating competitions. That’s exactly what reining hot dog eating champions Joey Chestnut and Sonya “Black Widow” Alexandraia were prepping for as both competitors defended their titles Thursday afternoon at the 98th Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest on Coney Island in New York.
Chestnut gobbled down 69 hot dogs in 10 minutes, CNN reports, while Thomas downed 36.75 dogs in 10 minutes. Chestnut upped his hot dog eating abilities by one from last year’s count, while Thomas actually ate less than her last year total of 45. This year she hopped to eat 50.
Chestnut, 29, has held the hot dog eating title for six years, The Associated Press reports. The 210 pound competitor explained the strategy he planned on using this afternoon explaining, “Tomorrow's strategy: just find my rhythm really quickly.”
The famous hot dog eating competition has been going on since 1916.
Image: Twitter