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Hot dog eating champ involved in mid-contest scuffle in wild scenes

Gerard Laws
·Sports Reporter
·3-min read
Joey Chestnut (pictured right) eating a hot dog and (pictured left) Joey Chestnut placing a protester in a chokehold during the competition
Joey Chestnut (pictured right) not only won first place eating 63 hot dogs in 10 minutes at Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest but he also was unfazed when a protester interrupted him (pictured left). (Getty Images)

American professional eater Joey Chestnut put a protester in a chokehold and demolished 63 hotdogs in 10 minutes on his way to winning an eventful Nathan's Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest on Monday.

The man nicknamed ‘Jaws’ secured his 15th title at the annual Independence Day event hosted at Coney Island, smashing his nearest competitor by 20 hot dogs and buns.

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While Chestnut fell short of his own personal record of 76, he still managed to add to his cult-hero status by man-handling an animal-rights activist who made his way on stage mid-contest.

The 38-year-old was in the middle of devouring a hot dog when he was bumped by the protester who was wearing a Darth Vader mask and holding a sign that read ‘expose Smithfield’s Death Star’.

Seemingly unfazed, Chestnut continued to chew his hot dog before wrapping one arm around the man and throwing him to the ground.

Making Chestnut’s accomplishment even more impressive was the fact he was dealing with a leg injury that saw him arrive for the contest on crutches and sporting a moon boot.

“It’s beautiful to be back here,” Chestnut said after winning the competition.

“It hurts, but I was in the zone for a little bit. I was ignoring it.”

Joey Chestnut's achievement praised

Chestnut’s heroics even earned comparisons to Michael Jordan’s famous ‘flu game’ for the Chicago Bulls during the 1997 NBA Finals.

Others on social media claimed Chestnut should be considered one of the most dominant athletes of all time, alongside sporting greats such as Rafa Nadal, Margaret Court, Bill Russell and Tom Brady.

In the women’s event, record holder Miki Sudo chowed-down 40 hot dogs and buns to claim the title.

It was a triumphant return to the big stage for Sudo, who set the world record in 2020 with 48 and a half hot dogs, only to miss last year’s contest due to pregnancy.

Sudo said she hoped to inspire her son Max with her triumph.

"I want to set an example to do things that you love and push yourself to your absolute limits and, when things get difficult, to still give it a try," she said.

"And, you know, you might actually just come out victorious."

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