Four thousand one hundred and ninety-two hits. One hundred points in one basketball game. A 56-game hitting streak.
Forget all those numbers, as they have been rendered meaningless.
The new standard is 69 — the amount of hot dogs and buns Joey “Jaws” Chestnut ate in 10 minutes during sport’s most grueling event.
Chestnut stuffed the 69th in his mouth just as time expired to shatter his previous record of 68 franks that the now-seven-time winner of Nathan’s Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating contest had reached twice before.
Three words explain the feat best: amazing, incredible, and, most appropriately, disgusting.
Matt “Megatoad” Stoney was the only other eater who challenged Chestnut in the contest. Stoney started with an early lead, but couldn’t keep up with the metronome pace set by Jaws. Stoney finished in second place with 51 hot dogs, setting his own personal record, but well short of champion.
Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas won her fourth-straight title on the women’s side, albeit by more nail-biting means. Thomas fell behind to Juliet Lee by five whole franks, but stormed back in the final minutes to beat her by three-quarters of a hot dog. Thomas finished with 36 and three-quarters hot dogs and buns compared to Lee’s 36.
