Not even a ruptured tendon in his leg could slow down Joey Chestnut on the Fourth of July.
For the 15th time in 16 years, Chestnut cruised to victory in the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.
Joey Chestnut will contest tomorrow's Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest on crutches after sustaining an injury to his leg.
An American hero 🇺🇸🌭 pic.twitter.com/nv2uGhgtCo— Dimers.com (@DimersCom) July 4, 2022
The 38-year-old wolfed down 63 hot dogs in 10 minutes to win his 15th title, which fittingly came by over 15.5 hot dogs over the second place finisher.
Chestnut’s winning total was well under the 76 hot dogs and his lowest total since 2015, which is the only year in the past decade and a half that he has lost the competition.
Joey Chestnut wins his 1️⃣5️⃣th Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating championship 🏆 pic.twitter.com/oyk84XEa0z
— ESPN (@espn) July 4, 2022
In 2015, his 60 hot dogs eaten fell short of the 62 consumed by American Matt Stonie, which ended Chestnut’s eight-year run as champion at the time.
While the over/under was set at 74.5 this year, the expectations weren’t particularly high for the legendary competitive eater.
15-TIME CHAMPION, @joeyjaws‼️ pic.twitter.com/uV8obw2JYj
— ESPN (@espn) July 4, 2022
A recent bout with COVID-19 and the death of his mother in June meant there was very little preparation from Chestnut this year, but despite his lower total he still cruised to victory.
In addition to everything that was hampering him leading into the event, he also had to deal with a protester while the competition was ongoing.
Joey Chestnut choke slamming protesters while winning 🐐 pic.twitter.com/XJlxAi5yoJ
— 🎙Hunter Sleppy 🇺🇦 (@HunterSleppy) July 4, 2022
On the women’s side, Miki Sudo won her eighth career Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest title.
She managed to wolf down 40 hot dogs in 10 minutes to secure the victory once again.
MIKI SUDO WINS HER 8TH CAREER NATHAN'S FAMOUS TITLE EATING 40 HOT DOGS AND BUNS 🏆 pic.twitter.com/3f70kdDrxr
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 4, 2022
