Joey Chestnut is on a roll — or bun, as the case may be. Competing in the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Competition at Coney Island on Thursday, July 4, the reigning champ downed 69 franks and buns in 10 minutes, thereby obliterating his opponents and beating his own personal record of 68 dogs.
The victory was Chestnut's seventh consecutive win. He now has one more Mustard Yellow International Belt than competitive eater Takeru "The Tsunami" Kobayashi, whose six-year run ended in 2007, when Chestnut downed 66 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes.
Second place in the 2013 contest went to Matt "Megatoad" Stonie, who started strong but finished with just 51 dogs and buns to his name. In the women's contest, Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas came out on top after eating 36 and three-quarters hot dogs to runner-up Juliet Lee's 36. Last year, Thomas consumed 45 franks.
Chestnut, for his part, has no plans to slow down anytime soon. "Seven is not the end," he told the Daily News earlier this week of his retirement plans. "Ten is looking more and more likely."
