Meet the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest 2024 competitors
NEW YORK -- Competitors weighed in for the 2024 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest Wednesday, with longtime champion Joey Chestnut notably missing from the men's field this year.
The Fourth of July tradition dates back to 1916 and takes place outside Nathan's flagship location at Surf and Stillwell avenues in Coney Island, Brooklyn.
A total of 15 men and 14 women will compete to take home the $20,000 cash prize and coveted Mustard Yellow Belt. For the first time in years, the men's competition is wide open, since Chesnut will not be competing.
The women's competition starts at 10:45 a.m. Thursday, followed by the men at 12 p.m.
Why is Joey Chestnut out of the 2024 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest?
Chestnut has been the reigning Nathan's hot dog eating champion for more than a decade, but he is not appearing in this year's competition.
Nathan's said he was ousted last month because of his partnership with Impossible Foods, a rival company that makes plant-based hot dogs.
They say he isn't "banned."
"He is never banned. He has never been banned. We want him there. We wanted him there. We conceded on all these elements. It was an exclusivity issue," George Shea of Major League Eating said. "However, the door is always open. He's the champion of the world. The greatest champion ever. We want him in Coney Island. He's always welcome."
Chestnut won his first Nathan's hot dog eating contest in 2007 and went on to become a 16-time champion. The 40-year-old holds the all-time record for 76 hot dogs in 2021 and won last year with 62.
This summer, he will spend the 4th of July taking part in another hot dog eating contest at Fort Bliss in Texas, and will later face off with former champion Takeru Kobayashi for a Netflix special that's set to air on Labor Day.
The shadow of Chestnut's legacy looms large and serves as a reminder of the heights the competitors must reach. At the weigh-in Wednesday, scales measured not just weight, but the hopes and dreams of those seeking to etch their names into history.
"People are going to see now five or six guys and they're going to realize the quality of eater that are maybe right behind Joey, the 1-A guys, so to speak. That we beat Joey inn contests year-round. Josey loses more contests than he wins. People forget that because they just see the one on ESPN," competitor Nick Wehry said.
Wehry is married to Miki Sudo, the defending women's champion. Her best is about as good as the best remaining men in the competition, but a new competitor has entered the arena.
"Mayoi Ebihara is going to be pushing me. From what she says, she's going to be doing 50," Sudo said. "Not an easy number to stumble across."
Who are the competitors in the 2024 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest
This year's contest will feature competitors from the United States -- including one from Astoria, Queens -- as well as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Japan, Korea and the United Kingdom.
Here is the lineup for the men's field:
- Geoffrey Esper, 49, Oxford, Massachusetts - The #2 eater in the world by Major League Eating. It's his ninth appearance at the competition. Nathan's says his personal best is 51 hot dogs and buns, and he holds 19 world records for competitive eating, including eating 23.75 pounds of strawberry shortcake on June 15.
- Nicholas Wehry, 35, Tampa, Florida - #4 ranked eater in the world by Major League Eating. It'll be his seventh appearance in the competition. His personal best is 48 hot dogs and buns. He's the Cuban sandwich eating champion, having eaten 22 of them in 8 minutes. He's married to the top female competitive eater in the world, Miki Sudo.
- James Webb, 35, Sydney, Australia - #5 ranked eater in the world by Major League Eating, and #1 competitive eater in Australia. Nathan's hails him as the "undisputed champion of the southern hemisphere." His personal best is 47 hot dogs and buns, and hold six world records, including world donut eating champion, with 70 glazed donuts. He set that record on June 7.
- Gideon Oji, 32, Morrow, Georgia - #6 ranked eater in the world by Major League Eating. Personal best of 48 hot dogs and buns. At 6'9", he's the tallest-ever Major League Eater. It's his ninth appearance in the competition. He holds world records in for eating kale, backed beans, bologna, and green chili stew.
- Patrick Bertoletti, 39, Chicago, Illinois - #9 ranked eater in the world, with a personal best of 55 hot dogs and buns. It's his sixth appearance in the competition. He holds 17 world records for competitive eating.
- Max Stanford, 36, Brixton, England - He's #1 ranked in the British Eating League, with a personal best of 34 hot dogs and buns. He holds world records for jaffa cakes, minute pies, and for eating a 50-oz steak in five minutes.
- Darrien Thomas, 25, Orillia, Ontario - #12 ranked eater in the world by Major League Eating, and #1 ranked in Canada. His personal best is 34.5 hot dogs and buns. He's also the youngest contestant this year.
- Ricardo Corbucci, 37, Brasilia, Brazil - #35 ranked eater in the world by Major League Eating, and #1 ranked in South America. It's his first appearance at the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest.
- Radim "Steel Rod" Dvořáček, 33, Ostrava, Czech Republic - #1 ranked competitive eater in the Czech Republic, with a personal best of 21.5 hot dogs and buns. He's entered more than 300 food challenges and eating contests in 17 countries.
- King Yamamoto, 40, Osaka, Japan - First appearance at the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest. He ate 17 pounds of ramen in 45 minutes, and 15 pounds of steak in 50 minutes. He previous won the 2013 "Battle of BIg Eaters in Singapore."
- George Chiger, 45, Pocono Pines, Pennsylvania - #21 ranked eater in the world by Major League Eating, with a personal best of 32.5 hot dogs and buns. It's his sixth appearance in the contest. He holds the world record for spray cheese in a can by eating two 8oz cans in 59 seconds.
- Derek "Heavy D" Hendrickson, 36, Las Vegas, Nevada- #8 ranked eater in the world by Major League Eating, with a personal best of 32.5 hot dogs and buns. It's his fifth appearance in the competition. A tamale champion, he once ate 10 pounds of macaroni and cheese in 20 minutes.
- Sean Yeager, 32, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania - It's his first appearance in the competition. His personal best is 36.75 hot dogs and buns. He's eaten 50 donuts and 16 pounds of strawberry shortcake in separate eight minute competitions.
- William Claude Lyon IV, 36, North Augusta, South Carolina - Ate 30 hot dogs and buns at a qualifying round in Cleaveland, and has previous competed in bodybuilding competitions, and the Augusta Half IronMan. He's won 30 food competitions, including eating 11 pounds of cereal in 38 minutes.
Lineup for the women's field:
- Miki Sudo, 38, Tampa, Florida - #3 ranked eater in the world by Major League Eating, and the #1 ranked female eater. She's a nine-time women's champion, winning every year since 2014, except 2021 which she missed due to being pregnant with her son. Her personal best is 48.5 hot dogs and buns. She holds nine world records for competitive eating.
- Mayoi "Ebimayo" Ebihara, 28, Tokyo, Japan - It'll be her third appearance at the competition. She has a personal best of 33.5 hot dogs and buns. She was runner up in 2023. She's previously eaten 15 pounds of curry in 15 minutes and 116 pieces of sushi in 16 minutes.
- Michelle "Cardboard Shell" Lesco, 40, Tucson, Arizona - #10 ranked eater in the world by Major League Eating. She was female champion in 2021, which Miki Sudo skipped due to pregnancy. Her personal best is 32 hot dogs and buns. It's her 13th appearance in the competition. She holds the Guinness World Record for eating 2448 grams of mayonnaise in three minutes.
- Larell Marie Mele, 60, Long Pond, Pennsylvania - #22 ranked eater in the world by Major League Eating. Her personal best is 21.25 hot dogs and buns. It's her 14th appearance in the competition - the longest consecutive streak in the women's division.
- Katie Prettyman, 41, Marysville, Washington - #23 ranked eater in the world by Major League Eating, with a personal best of 16 hot dogs and buns.
- Mary Bowers, Seoul, South Korea - #39 ranked eater in the world by Major League Eating, and #1 ranked in Korea. Her personal best is 12 hot dogs and buns. It's her 10th year in the competition.
- Cherish Brown, 35, Edon, Ohio - It'll be her third appearance in the competition, with a personal best of 10 hot dogs and buns.
- Jocelyn Young, 43, Sherman, Texas - The #29 ranked eater in the world and #1 female eater in Texas, it'll be her sixth time appearing in the contest.
- Julie Goldberg, 38, Astoria, Queens - The only New Yorker in the competition, she has a personal best of 9.5 hot dogs and buns. It'll be her seventh appearance in the contest.
- Tandra Childress, 38, San Francisco, California - With a personal best of 12 hot dogs and buns, it's her first appearance in the contest. She's previously eaten 200 oysters in a restaurant contest.
- Ellen Straub, 29, Palm Bay, Florida - It's her first appearance in the competition. She has a personal best of seven hot dogs and buns. This is also her first competitive eating experience.
- Crystal "Crystal Pistol" Ocampo, 28, Vallejo, California - With a personal best of seven hot dogs and buns, it's her first appearance in the contest.
- Elizabeth "Glizzy Lizzy" Salgado, 32, Kern County, California - It's her third appearance in the contest. Her personal best is 8.75 hot dogs and buns.
- Rubianne Garcia, 32, San Antonio, Texas - It's her first appearance in the contest. Her personal best is seven hot dogs and buns.