Joey Chestnut Wins Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest for Second Straight Year

Anna Connors/AP Photo

Joey Chestnut has won the 2026 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, eating an unofficial total of 66 hot dogs and buns over 10 minutes.

With the win, Chestnut extended his own record with 18 career victories. It was his second consecutive year winning the hot dog eating contest. In 2025, he won in dominant fashion after consuming 70 hot dogs.

Most notably, it was Chest’s second straight win since his controversial ban from the contest in 2024. The 42-year-old was unable to compete due to a contract dispute with Major League Eating, the governing body that organizes the event.

Due to that ban, 2024 was the first year since 2006 that a contestant other than Chestnut won the iconic competition. Had he not been barred from competing, he’d likely be looking at an unfathomable 19-year streak.

Chestnut was one of 27 competitors to take the stage this year at the corner of Surf and Stillwell avenues in Brooklyn, and took an early lead. No other competitor came close to Chestnut’s total.

“I knew right away I was fast. I knew I was going to be able to get the win. But uh, I knew also early that I wasn’t going to get the record. I just had to stay calm, don’t push things, don’t make any big mistakes,” he told ESPN after being awarded the famed Mustard Belt. “I’ve got so much room left.”

“It’s awesome. Eating here on the Fourth of July? It’s electric,” he added, when asked about what it felt like to compete on America’s 250th anniversary.

The competition has been held in its modern format since 1972, though Nathan’s insists on its web site the battle actually began way back in 1916.

In the women’s contest earlier Saturday, Miki Sudo won with a total of 38.75 hot dogs consumed.

The reigning women’s champ earned her 12 title Saturday morning in Coney Island.

In 2024, the 40-year-old Sudo consumed 51 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes in the contest, setting a record in the women’s division.

Sudo’s husband, competitive eater Nick Wehry, also competed Saturday. The Florida couple share a 4-year-old son, Max.

Wehry is best known for swallowing 50 hard-boiled eggs in a little more than three minutes in 2021, according to USA Today.

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