In a uniquely American spectacle becoming of the nation’s 250th birthday, the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest took place in Coney Island on Saturday, with scorching temperatures slowing paces well below the record thresholds.
The Brooklyn beach neighborhood was flooded with people by midmorning on July 4. Contest attendees wearing foam hot-dog hats and brimming with anticipation mingled among beachgoers, who trudged along with beach chairs and coolers in tow.
The sweet coconut smell of spray-on sunscreen floated through the crowd. Above the fray, the multicolored roller coaster cars swung and dipped overhead.
In the end, Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo would once again emerge triumphant, as they have so many times before. Mr. Chestnut choked down 66 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes, far short of his record 76, while Ms. Sudo managed 38.75 dogs for her win. It was Mr. Chestnut’s 18th win and Ms. Sudo’s 12th.
“Celebrating America’s 250th, it was a big year to have a good performance, and it was wonderful to celebrate with everybody,” Ms. Sudo said.
The women’s contest kicked off festivities at 10:30 a.m. with much fanfare. A band complete with trumpets, trombones and a tuba sent upbeat music echoing through the streets surrounding Nathan’s flagship location on Surf Avenue.
Under the hot sun, which caused temperatures to soar into the 90s, hot dogs sat at the ready, buns nearly spilling over the platters the size of small tables. Green and gold trophies, as well as the coveted mustard belts — proof of ultimate victory — rested beside the hot dogs. The audience was laser focused, with some hats slicked with sweat. The smell of hot dog buns wafted through the air.
Ms. Sudo pressed her mouth against her arm while she chewed and swallowed her dozens of dogs. As the clock ran down and Ms. Sudo was announced the victor, the audience let out a stream of applause and screams, reaching a fever pitch as their champion lifted up her mustard belt in victory.
In an interview following the contest, Ms. Sudo admitted that the heat wave was an added element, but one she could manage.
“Being from Florida, I think I was a little more prepared than everybody else,” she said, “but this humidity is not the easiest to compete in.”
George Shea, the bombastic master of ceremonies, acknowledged that the heat might have slowed down some of the female competitors. But it grew only hotter as the men prepared to take the stage about an hour and a half later.
Halfway through the men’s contest, it appeared as though Mr. Chestnut was on pace to break the record, with 40 hot dogs under his belt. But it was not to be. The heat challenged him, he said, and he slowed as he reached the finish with 66 hot dogs eaten overall.
“I don’t want to go into it saying it’s going to affect me, I want to go in trying to convince myself I can work through it,” Mr. Chestnut said of the heat. “I didn’t want to let it bother me. I didn’t want to push it. Because if I push it, things get stuck in my throat.”
The elusive record of 77 stands, the dream deferred for yet another July 4. The 76 hot dogs that make up Mr. Chestnut’s existing record measure over 40 feet in length, about half the height of the Coney Island Cyclone’s peak.
With all that eating behind him, Mr. Chestnut was not quite satiated after the competition on Saturday. Mr. Chestnut, who has also participated in cherry pie and Twinkie eating competitions, said after the hot dog race that he was looking to snag something cold to eat on the boardwalk for dessert.
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