Patrick Bertoletti Wins Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest Amid Reining Champion's Absence
HuffPost
Joey Chestnut, reining champion of the annual contest, did not participate this year because of a sponsorship tiff.
NEW YORK (AP) — Patrick Bertoletti of Chicago gobbled down 58 hot dogs to win his first men’s title Thursday at the annual Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest, taking advantage of the absence of the event’s biggest star.
Bertoletti won in a tight, 10-minute race where the leader bounced back and forth. The 39-year-old Bertoletti defeated 13 competitors from around the world in a test to see who can wolf down the most hot dogs in 10 minutes.
“I wasn’t going to stop eating until the job was done,” Bertoletti said.
Bertoletti bested his prior record of 55 hot dogs at the event, held every Independence Day 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.