Bertoletti wins first Mustard Belt sans Chestnut

NEW YORK — Patrick Bertoletti of Chicago gobbled down 58 hot dogs to win his first men’s title Thursday at the annual Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Bertoletti, 39, won in a tight, 10-minute race where the leader changed several times. Bertoletti defeated 13 competitors from around the world in a test to see who could wolf down the most hot dogs in 10 minutes.

“I wasn’t going to stop eating until the job was done,” Bertoletti said.

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Bertoletti bested his prior record of 55 hot dogs at the event, held every Fourth of July on New York’s Coney Island.

The reigning men’s champion, Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, didn’t attend the competition this year over a sponsorship tiff. Instead, Chestnut will compete against soldiers at a U.S. Army base in El Paso later in the day. Chestnut won 16 out of 17 previous competitions.

Bertoletti said he lost weight and practiced for three months with “an urgency” to prepare for Thursday’s event, thinking he had a good chance of winning.

“With Joey not here, I knew I had a shot,” he said. “I was able to unlock something that I don’t know where it came from. But I’m not complaining.”

Earlier Thursday, defending champion Miki Sudo of Florida won her 10th title in the women’s division.

Sudo consumed 51 hot dogs in 10 minutes — and set a new world record for women.

“I’m just happy to call this mine for another year,” Sudo said after winning her 10th pink belt.

The dental hygiene student won last year after forcing down 39½ hot dogs.

Sudo, 38, also defeated 13 competitors, including 28-year-old rival Mayoi Ebihara of Japan. Ebihara came in second after eating 37 hot dogs in 10 minutes. She was also the runner-up in 2023.

Bertoletti’s victory marks the first time the famed Mustard Belt has gone to someone besides Chestnut since 2015.

Thousands of fans flock each year to the event held outside the original Nathan’s location in Brooklyn’s Coney Island, a beachfront destination with amusement parks and a carnivalesque summer culture.

Competitors came from over a dozen states and five continents, with prospects from Brazil, Japan, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Australia and Czechia vying for the coveted title and $10,000 in prize money.

Patrick Bertoletti broke his personal best of 55 hot dogs by consuming 58 to win the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York City. Adam Gray/Getty Images

Last year Chestnut, of Indiana, chewed his way to the title by downing 62 dogs and buns in 10 minutes. The record, which he set in 2021, is 76.

Chestnut was initially disinvited from the event over a sponsorship deal with Impossible Foods, a company that specializes in plant-based meat substitutes.

Major League Eating, which organizes the Nathan’s Famous contest, has since said it walked back the ban, but Chestnut decided to spend the holiday with the troops anyway.

Chestnut said he wouldn’t return to the Coney Island contest without an apology.

The event at the Fort Bliss army base in El Paso, scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. ET, will use traditional franks, with Chestnut attempting to out-eat four soldiers in five minutes.

Even though he won’t be eating their vegan products, Impossible Foods is promoting Chestnut’s YouTube livestream of the exhibition by flying airplanes with banners over Los Angeles and Miami. The company will also donate to an organization supporting military families based on the number of hot dogs eaten at the event, a spokesperson said.