Joey sa国际传媒淛awssa国际传媒� Chestnut ate 71 wieners and buns to secure his 12th title at Nathansa国际传媒檚 Famous annual July Fourth hot dog eating contest on Thursday, just a few hot dogs shy of breaking the record he set last year.
In front of a crowd of fans and facing 17 opponents, the California native far exceeded his nearest competitors, but didnsa国际传媒檛 quite make or pass the 74-dog mark he reached in 2018.
When asked how he felt after the contest, Chestnut, 35, said sa国际传媒淚 feel like I should eat a couple more.
sa国际传媒淚 knew it was going to be close. I was trying hard and I was overstuffing my mouth and it wasnsa国际传媒檛 going down,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淚 just needed to find a way to move a little bit faster. I think itsa国际传媒檚 getting harder the older I get.sa国际传媒�
Miki Sudo had already won the womensa国际传媒檚 competition by chomping down 31 hot dogs.
The 33-year-old fell short of her total last year of 37 frankfurters but earned her sixth consecutive title by easily beating runner-up Michelle Lesco, who wolfed down 26 hot dogs.
Like Chestnut, she expressed some disappointment in not eating more.
sa国际传媒淚t wasnsa国际传媒檛 my best number, the numbers were pretty low across the board. I donsa国际传媒檛 know if it was the heat, but I really cansa国际传媒檛 complain. I wasnsa国际传媒檛 feeling in my best shape so Isa国际传媒檓 just glad that it was enough to pull off a sixth belt,sa国际传媒� she said.
Sonya sa国际传媒淭he Black Widowsa国际传媒� Thomas holds the all-time womensa国际传媒檚 record of 45 hot dogs in 10 minutes.
Chestnut and Sudo will each take home $10,000.
The annual eat-off started in 1972, though the company has long promoted the event with a theatrical backstory that places its start date in 1916.
Chestnut has only lost once since 2007, when he pulled ahead of longtime foe Takeru Kobayashi for the first time. An ESPN documentary released Tuesday features the two former rivals and their extreme training regimens.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 not something that theresa国际传媒檚 books written about,sa国际传媒� Chestnut says in the film, which shows him lifting his head up and down with a weight dangling from his mouth. sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 not trainers. Everythingsa国际传媒檚 trial and error.sa国际传媒�
Kobayashi no longer takes part in the event.
Spectator George Cartolano, 40, said his favourite part of the contest was sa国际传媒渨atching them try not to regurgitate.sa国际传媒�
Chestnutsa国际传媒檚 next meal will probably be a sa国际传媒渟aladsa国际传媒� and sa国际传媒渁 lot of liquid,sa国际传媒� he said. But hesa国际传媒檒l be back next year for the franks.
sa国际传媒淎s long as Isa国际传媒檓 healthy, as long as Isa国际传媒檓 happy and competitive, you can count me in.sa国际传媒�
Ali Swenson, The Associated Press
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