Scenes from Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest 

By Scott Lynch

One of Brooklyn’s most relished holiday traditions returned with full mustard this Fourth of July as the Nathan’s 126th annual hot dog eating contest once again took over the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues after being held at other locations for the past two years due to the pandemic.

Just a few on the 47,000 hot dogs Nathan’s reportedly prepped for the event (Scott Lynch)

Joey Chestnut, 38, won his 15th Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest title by wolfing down 63 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. Heat and humidity — and, possibly, an animal rights protester who jumped on stage mid-competition and who Chestnut himself choked and slammed to the ground — foiled his bid to break his own record of 76.

Joey Chestnut, center, retained his title by eating 63 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes (Scott Lynch)

“This is our sixth time here,” Hanna Garrett of Kensington told Brooklyn Magazine. She was dressed for the occasion in a full-body hot dog costume, while enjoying herself with a friend visiting from Virgina. “It’s phenomenal. You’ve got to celebrate America’s culture of excessive consumption somehow! It’s the most grawsome thing I’ve seen in my life.”

Miki Sudo, the six-time women’s champ who sat out last year because she was eight months pregnant, regained her title by shoving 40 of Nathan’s Famous dogs down her gullet. She was joined by her 11-month-old son on stage to accept her trophy, championship belt, and plenty of admiration from the huge crowd.

Miki Sudo (center) regained her crown by eating 40 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes (Scott Lynch)

Not everyone achieved glory. Katie Rivermark from New Jersey ate a total of four hot dogs in 10 minutes, 36 fewer than the champ. “It was a lot,” she said. “It was hard. I’ve never done this before, I kind of just signed up for fun and it was more than expected. I also have celiac so I get sick from eating the buns in the first place. But I figured I’d still give it a shot. Right now I feel … not great.”

Taken as a whole, the iconic event makes for fairly disgusting spectacle, with sodden, half-chewed food spraying out over the fans up front. Not only did thousands of people bake in the sun for hours to watch it live, one man, Tanner Bassett of Connecticut, got there at 4:30 in the morning to secure a front row spot. The two-plus hour contest was broadcast around the world to millions via ESPN.

You may ask yourself: How does 20 minutes of hot dog eating translate into two hours of television? There were several musical interludes, including Times Square subway busker Felipe Pavani from Rio de Janeiro, who performed Bon Jovi covers. Eric “Badlands” Booker from East New York rocked a few freestyle bars (he also guzzled a gallon of pink lemonade in less than 30 seconds), and a Alex Frankel sang a Puccini aria, ending his performance with the cry, “trans rights are human rights!”

Your master of ceremonies, the Major League Eating Chair George Shea of Park Slope (Scott Lynch)

Mostly though, George Shea, the founder of Major League Eating and the event’s emcee, provided the bulk of the filler. Which he did with a seemingly inexhaustible stream of mock heroic banter about the glories of competitive eating, “a battle of the titans.”

“We are back,” he shouted. “We are back, Brooklyn!”

Here are a few more scenes from Monday’s Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Chestnut gets his game face on (Scott Lynch)

Chestnut helps take out a protester who interrupted the competition (Scott Lynch)

Gideo Oji of Georgia (center) came in fourth place (Scott Lynch)

(Scott Lynch)

(Scott Lynch)

(Scott Lynch)

(Scott Lynch)

(Scott Lynch)