Hot Dog Eating Contest
Hot dog king breaks record in Super Bowl of gluttony, downing 72 franks at Nathan's Famous competition
Joey Chestnut, the once and future and probably forever king of competitive eating, vaporized 72 franks and buns to win the 2017 Nathan's Famous July 4th Hot Dog Eating Contest.
It was Chestnut's 10th time taking home the prestigious Mustard Yellow Belt, signifying dominance in the Super Bowl of gluttony.
By downing 72 hot dogs, Chestnut set a new record for the annual Coney Island event. But he came up one hot dog short of equaling the all-time mark of 73 franks, which he set last year in Washington, D.C.
Promising newcomer Carmen Cincotti finished second with 62 hot dogs, while 2015 winner Matt Stonie, once considered the top young gun in competitive eating and the heir apparent to Chestnut, finished a disappointing third with only 48 dogs.
Miki Sudo won her fourth title in a row on the women's side of the event, finishing with 41 dogs, a personal best. Michelle Lesco was second with 32-1/2, while Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas was far back with 30.
Whispers of "maybe it's time for Thomas to retire," were heard in the announced crowd of 35,000 fans. If she does leave the sport, Thomas is a surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer.
On a personal note, I was assigned to judge (count the hot dogs) for Chestnut and Sudo. It marked the fifth contest in a row where I judged the winner, the first five-peat for a judge in the July 4 pigout.
For those scoring at home, Chestnut consumed 20,160 calories and 56,160 milligrams of sodium. He's a good eater.
After I announced the results on Twitter, somebody fired back, "Does this make Chestnut one of the greatest athletes of all time?"
I answered, "No, not one of the greatest ... THE greatest."
Naturally I was kidding. Or was I?