Annual Hot Dog Eating Contest went off without a hitch

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  • Competitive eaters Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo after winning their respective divisions with new world records at the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on Saturday. Chestnut at 75 hot dogs in 10 minutes, winning him his 13th title. Sudo ate almost 49 dogs to snag the women’s title. Courtesy photo
    Competitive eaters Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo after winning their respective divisions with new world records at the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on Saturday. Chestnut at 75 hot dogs in 10 minutes, winning him his 13th title. Sudo ate almost 49 dogs to snag the women’s title. Courtesy photo
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Sports fans all over the world are hungry for any type of sports action, and they gobbled up the annual Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4.

The hot dog eating contest stuck with tradition by hosting it on July 4 at Nathan’s Famous, Inc.; a well-known restaurant on Coney Island.

However, the pandemic forced a few changes to the 2020 contest. Like many sports events, the contest was done without any fans in the building. It was aired on television like in the past, so spectators could still watch.

Another change was how many contestants were allowed to join. Only five were allowed in thie year’s competition, and they were separated by clear partitions. Workers bringing food to the competitors had to wear masks.

Joey Chestnut scarfed down a massive 75 weiners and buns in 10 minutes to win his 13th title. At approximately eight minutes into the competition, Chestnut made history by eating his 1,000th career dog.

The Coney Island tradition allowed betting this year to appease the sports fans.

Chestnut said even though the changes to the competition were difficult, he pushed through to claim his win.

“It was hard, but I knew I was fast at the beginning,” Chestnut said on ESPN. “The dogs were cooked really well today. At minute 6 is where I missed the crowd. I hit a wall. It took a little more work to get through it.”

Miki Sudo ate almost 49 hot dogs to win the women’s division and set a world record. It’s her seventh title, more than any woman ever. Sudo said the lack of fans

Sudo said the lack of fans was weird, but she is glad they were able to watch.

“To everybody watching at home, I wish you could be here, but thank you so much for supporting us out of your living room.”

Sudo’s boyfriend, bodybuilder Nick Wehry, is her training partner. It helped her to be able to train with another competitive eater. Wehry finished third with almost 40 dogs,

Sudo is still riding her winning high, but said she will probably crash later.

“I feel great,” Sudo said. “I’m sure the physical effects will kick in in a little bit.”