There was one upset at the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest on Friday -- and probably many more upset stomachs.
At the hot dog-eating contest in New York City's Coney Island, both the men's and women's reigning champions were present to defend their titles. Joey Chestnut, the seven-time champion, and Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, a three-time winner, were out to not only defeat their challengers, but also set new hot dog-eating records.
While Chestnut won the title for the eighth consecutive year, The Black Widow wasn't as lucky. Miki Sudo took down Thomas, eating 34 hot dogs in the 10-minute competition, while Thomas ate 27 and 3/4. Michelle Lesco came in third in the women's competition, eating a paltry 27.
.@OMGitsMIKI has defeated reigning champ Sonya Thomas in women's competition! #NathansFamous #July4th #July4Nathans pic.twitter.com/X9B9MYpewS— Nathan's Famous (@originalnathans) July 4, 2014
“To be the first person to beat Sonya Thomas at hot dogs is surreal,” Sudo said after winning. “I think both of us are hoping to break the existing world record of 45 in 10 minutes but weather conditions got in the way, but we’ll definitely be back to set a higher number.”
Thomas was the one who set the record of 45. Last year, she downed 36 and 3/4 hot dogs to win the Fourth of July contest.
The men's champion, Joey Chestnut, had more than hot dogs on his mind on Friday. Before the men's competition, he proposed to his girlfriend of three years on the Nathan's Famous stage.
Congratulations to @joeyjaws on his engagement! #FamousLoveStory #NathansFamous pic.twitter.com/rCB6vRn5bO— Nathan's Famous (@originalnathans) July 4, 2014
Champion Joey Chestnut just asked his gf to marry him before he attempts to eat 70 hot dogs in Coney Island. How can any of us compete?— Jensen Karp (@JensenClan88) July 4, 2014
Up until the final minutes, Chestnut and men's challenger Matt Stonie were dog to dog.
3 minutes remaining at Coney Island! Chestnut and Stonie locked at 46 hot dogs each! 70 won’t happen.— Fight_Ghost (@Fight_Ghost) July 4, 2014
Chestnut then pulled ahead to down a total of 61 dogs -- eight hot dogs fewer than he managed to eat last year, although still respectable. Stonie downed 56 in the same time period.
Congratulations to @joeyjaws on his 8th Hot Dog Eating Contest win! pic.twitter.com/XopCP6rvXO— Nathan's Famous (@originalnathans) July 4, 2014
Both the men's and women's winners receive $20,000 -- and bragging rights for the next year. Check out the photos from the competition:
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