Joey Chestnut Regains Nathan’s Famous Championship Belt

Sure, the average person will enjoy a hot dog or two on the Fourth of July. Hell, someone probably put away three or four hot dogs and felt like a boss. That’s cool, but try eating 53 — in 10 minutes. If you did, you still wouldn’t beat Joey Chestnut.

Just one year after losing the title of the most prolific hot dog eater in the world, Joey “Jaws” Chestnut regained the championship belt by dominating the 100th annual Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Competition, by crushing 70 hot dogs in 10 mins.

Chestnut lost the belt in last year’s competition to professional eater Matt Stonie. However, after a year of training, Chestnut was determined to reclaim the belt.

We always believed in you, @joeyjaws 👊🏼 🇺🇸#HotDogEatingContest2016 pic.twitter.com/tiehDdgsMv

— Nathan’s Famous (@originalnathans) July 4, 2016

“Last year was rough,” Chestnut told ESPN. “This year was the best ever.”

Not only did Chestnut set the record for hot dogs eaten, at 70, but he but he also won a cash prize of $10,000. Although, Stonie didn’t walk away empty handed with a cool $5,000. Not bad for eating 53 hot dogs. With that said, Stonie ate 63 in last year’s competition.

It’s safe to say Chestnut is an absolute beast. 70 hot dogs is quite an accomplishment. What’s more interesting, last month Chestnut set another record by eating 73.5 dogs, according to Bleacher Report.

I guess the Nathan’s Famous competition was just a warm up. Until next year!