- Joey Chestnut sets new world record for eating hotdogs
- Record was set as he faced off against his rival from Japan
- The head-to-head contest was streamed live on Netflix
In arguably the biggest event in competitive eating ever Joey Chestnut managed to down an incredible number of hotdogs to set a new world record and defeat his greatest rival.
Rival beaten
In an event streamed live on Netflix, Chestnut managed to eat 83 hotdogs in just 10 minutes. That works out as one hot dog eaten every 7.23 seconds.
His great rival, Japanese eater Takeru Kobayashi, could only manage 66 dogs in the face-off, which was titled ‘Unfinished Beef’ and held in Las Vegas, Nevada. This meant Chestnut took the $100,000 prize on offer, as well as the title of ‘Greatest of all Time’.
Unsurprisingly, Chestnut’s total was a world record in competitive eating, as the most downed in 10 minutes without dunking them in water.
Long-standing beef
This was Chestnut and Kobayashi’s first meeting in 15 years. The two kings of competitive eating have been rivals for the best part of 20 years, having first competed against one another at the famous Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in 2005. In 2007, Chestnut first beat Kobayashi – by then a six-time winner of the Nathan’s contest – and again in 2008 and 09. After this, Kobayashi didn’t compete in the Coney Island-based competition, due to a contract dispute, which then led to a period of dominance of the event for Chestnut – he has won the event 16 times.
But Chestnut himself was barred from this year’s Nathan’s Contest, which was held on July 4, after signing a sponsorship deal with a rival brand of wieners. This led to the face-off with Kobayashi.
Chestnut’s eating prowess is not limited to hot dogs. In July, Chestnut managed to down 200 boneless chicken wings after being challenged by Buffalo Wild Wings – and in doing so the fast food chain extended an offer to its patrons.
