2026 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest: Chestnut, Sudo Win Big

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2026 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest: Chestnut, Sudo Win Big

By the time the dust settled on the 2026 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo had retained their titles.

Published Sat, 04 Jul 2026 13:04:11 -0500
by Ray Flook
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Article Summary

• Joey Chestnut won the 2026 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog contest with 66, capturing his 18th title in Coney Island.
• Miki Sudo retained the women’s Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog crown with 38 3/4, earning her 12th win and fifth straight.
• Patrick Bertoletti finished second to Chestnut with 51, while James Webb placed third with 47 1/2 hot dogs eaten.
• Michelle Lesco took second behind Sudo with 22, and Domenica Dee finished third with 21 1/2 in the women’s field.

As hard as they tried, the men's and women's divisions of Major League Eating's 2026 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest just couldn't cut the mustard, with No. 1 overall eater Joey Chestnut and top-ranked female eater Miki Sudo each retaining their titles. Dealing with a slightly cooler but still blistering heat/humidity combo, Sudo would end up downing 38 3/4 hot dogs and buns in ten minutes. Michelle Lesco and Domenica Dee would be a distant second and third, with 22 and 21 1/2 hot dogs and buns, respectively. The same scenario on the men's side, with Chesnut downing 66 hot dogs and buns, with Patrick Bertoletti in second place with 51, and James Webb in third with 47 1/2.

Here's a look at Chestnut and Sudo notching their latest wins, marking the 18th title for Chestnut, while Sudo walked away with her 12th win overall and fifth straight title:

2025 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest: A Look Back

Would Sudo be able to retain her title and pick up her 11th win in the competition? Would Bertoletti be able to keep his title and prove that last year's win wasn't a fluke? Would returning Chestnut, who was banned from the 2024 event over an endorsement deal that conflicted with Major League Eating, reclaim his crown? Those were the headline questions heading into the 2025 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. How did everything play out?

On the women's side, Sudo would keep her title and chalk up another Nathan's win, downing 33 hot dogs and buns for the win. Lesco locked down second with 22 and 3/4 hot dogs and buns, while Dee took third with 22 and 1/2 hot dogs and buns.

On the men's side, the returning Chestnut reclaimed his title after downing 70 and 1/2 hot dogs, with Bertoletti taking a distant second place with 46 and 1/2 hot dogs and buns eaten, and Webb checking in at a close third with 45 and 1/2 hot dogs and buns. You can check out both competition videos, available below and at the top of the article.

2024 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest: A Look Back

On the women's side, Florida's Sudo downed 51 hot dogs in 10 minutes, which would be enough to not only secure her the women's title but also set a world record. The 38-year-old dental hygienist bested not only her event-winning total from last year (39 1/2 hot dogs) but also the previous world record (48 1/2 hot dogs) – the record that Sudo set. To give you a sense of just how big the margin of victory was for Sudo among the other 14 competitors, second place went to Japan's Mayoi Ebihara, with 37 hot dogs.

On the men's side, things were much closer – but it would be Bertoletti who would take the crown. Though no world records were broken, the competition itself proved to be a competitive one. In the end, the 39-year-old would knock down 58 hot dogs, with Massachusetts's Geoffrey Esper taking second with 53 hot dogs and Webb taking third with 52 hot dogs. Bertoletti's performance saw the professional eater besting his result from the last time he competed in the summer event (33 1/2 hot dogs in 2022) and his personal best of 55 hot dogs.

"I was gutted to learn from the media that after 19 years, I'm banned from the Nathan's July 4th Hot Dog Eating Contest. I love competing in that event, I love celebrating America with my fans all over this great country on the 4th, and I have been training to defend my title," Chestnut shared in a tweet/x response when news that he was barred from the competition in June 2024. Major League Eating announced that it prohibited Chestnut from competing over his deal to be a spokesperson for Impossible Foods and the company's plant-based hot dogs, which smacks in the face of the brand exclusivity rules associated with Nathan's event.

He continued, "To set the record straight, I do not have a contract with MLE or Nathans and they are looking to change the rules from past years as it relates to other partners I can work with.This is apparently the basis on which I'm being banned, and it doesn't impact the July 4th event. Sadly, this is the decision Nathan's and Major League Eating are making, and it will deprive the great fans of the holiday's usual joy and entertainment. To my fans, I love you and appreciate you. Rest assured that you'll see me eat again soon!! STAY HUNGRY!"

Chestnut would end up going one-on-one with his rival, six-time hot dog–eating champion Takeru Kobayashi, on September 2nd, 2024, during Netflix's Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef.

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