Las Vegas’ Miki Sudo eyes 6th straight Nathan’s hot dog eating title
The Associated Press
Eleven-time and defending men’s champion Joey Chestnut, left, and defending women’s champion Miki Sudo pose together during Nathan’s Famous international Fourth of July hot dog eating contest weigh-in at the Empire State Building on Wednesday, July 3, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Eleven-time and defending men’s champion Joey Chestnut, left, and former champion and number three ranked eater in the world Matt Stonie pose together during Nathan’s Famous international Fourth of July hot dog eating contest weigh-in at the Empire State Building on Wednesday, July 3, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Defending women’s champion Miki Sudo participates in Nathan’s Famous international Fourth of July hot dog eating contest weigh-in at the Empire State Building on Wednesday, July 3, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Number two ranked female eater in the world Michelle Lesco, left, and defending women’s champion Miki Sudo pose together during Nathan’s Famous international Fourth of July hot dog eating contest weigh-in at the Empire State Building on Wednesday, July 3, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Eleven-time and defending men’s champion Joey Chestnut participates in Nathan’s Famous international Fourth of July hot dog eating contest weigh-in at the Empire State Building on Wednesday, July 3, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Eleven-time and defending men’s champion Joey Chestnut, left, and former champion and number three ranked eater in the world Matt Stonie pose together during Nathan’s Famous international Fourth of July hot dog eating contest weigh-in at the Empire State Building on Wednesday, July 3, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Eleven-time and defending men’s champion Joey Chestnut, right, and defending women’s champion Miki Sudo pose together at Nathan’s Famous international Fourth of July hot dog eating contest weigh-in at the Empire State Building on Wednesday, July 3, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Eleven-time and defending men’s champion Joey Chestnut poses on the 86th floor observation deck during the Nathan’s Famous international Fourth of July hot dog eating contest weigh-in at the Empire State Building on Wednesday, July 3, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Eleven-time and defending men’s champion Joey Chestnut participates in Nathan’s Famous international Fourth of July hot dog eating contest weigh-in at the Empire State Building on Wednesday, July 3, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
NEW YORK — Eleven-time champion Joey Chestnut says he expects this year’s Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest to be “a battle.”
But the 35-year-old Chestnut said Wednesday that he’ll “find a rhythm and do what it takes” to win the Fourth of July eat-off in Brooklyn’s beachside Coney Island neighborhood.
Chestnut joined other competitors at the Empire State Building for the weigh-in for Thursday’s contest.
Chestnut weighed in at 216.5 pounds (98 kilograms), while defending women’s champion Las Vegan Miki Sudo weighed 114 pounds (52 kilograms).
Chestnut ate 74 wieners and buns to claim the 2018 title. Sudo ate 37 to triumph on the women’s side. She beat out second-place finisher Mischelle Lesco of Tuscon, Arizona, who chowed down 28 wieners and buns.
Sudo has won five straight Nathan’s contest from 2014–18. She is Major League Eating’s top-ranked female competitive eater.
In Septmeber, Sudo took the Double Down Pizza Challenge at Slice of Vegas in The Shoppes of Mandalay Bay.
The seven-pound pizza was topped with pizza sauce, mozzarella, capicola, salami, pepperoni, bacon, ham, yellow onions, mushrooms and jalapeños. To win, Sudo must finish the whole pizza, including the crust, within one hour and without leaving the table.
Sudo finished the pizza challenge in 35 minutes and 34 seconds.
Thursday’s top five Nathan’s winners of each gender will split $40,000. The two first-place winners will each earn $10,000.
