Nathan’s Hot Dog Contest Finds Familiar Winners Amid Unexpected Drama

The spectators lined up shoulder to shoulder in Coney Island on Tuesday, many sporting headwear that captured the essence of the day: Nathan’s foam hot dog hats or blue caps provided by an antacid company.

And then the rain struck.

Minutes before the men’s division of the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest was to begin, torrential rain and lightning hit the area, sending fans scattering for cover or higher ground. Some news reports suggested that the event was canceled; by 1:30 p.m., security guards were breaking down the stage and ordering any remaining spectators to leave.

The event’s promoters, however, said that no decision had been made to cancel the event, and once the rain subsided and some swift logistical changes were made, the contest resumed shortly after 2 p.m.

“We will never surrender,” the event’s host and promoter, George Shea, proclaimed to the fans who remained.

The men’s event began by 2:20 p.m., and order was quickly restored, with the defending champion and overwhelming favorite, Joey Chestnut, easily defending his title by eating 62 hot dogs.

The women’s contest was expected to be a runaway victory for the defending champion, Miki Sudo. She did prevail, eating 39.5 hot dogs in 10 minutes, only six more than her closest competitor, Mayoi Ebihara, in a closer finish than expected.

Then the elements intervened, creating scenes of chaos as thousands of spectators fled for their safety. Some sought refuge at the nearby subway station; others simply went home.

About three blocks from the contest, emergency personnel responded to a report that at least one person had been electrocuted, according to the Fire Department. Two people were taken to Lutheran Medical Center; it was unclear if they had been struck by lightning, and their conditions were unknown.

The lightning caused city and police officials to order the evacuation of the contest area, according to Dawn Tolson, executive director of the city’s Citywide Event Coordination and Management office.

Legend holds that the Nathan’s competition has been held each year since 1916. Legend, however, does not comport with fact: In 2010, one of the original promoters of the contest, Mortimer Matz, admitted that in “Coney Island pitchman style,” they had made the origin story up.

The event actually began in the early 1970s, and its current incarnation is fueled by a supercharged dose of puns and patriotism from Mr. Shea, who oversees the event with his brother, Rich Shea.

Over the years, the Sheas have gently coerced mayors, including Rudolph W. Giuliani, Michael R. Bloomberg and Bill de Blasio, to preside over weigh-in ceremonies that are rich with one-line groaners. (After delivering one such groaner in 2012, Mr. Bloomberg famously remarked aloud, “Who wrote this [expletive]?”)

They have expanded the Coney Island event into a national spectacle of competitive eating run by Major League Eating, a group that describes itself as “the governing body of all stomach-centric sports.” The men’s contest was carried live on ESPN2; the women’s contest was shown live on the ESPN app, and on delay on ESPN2.

For most of America, the Fourth of July evokes thoughts of fireworks, family and cookouts. But hours before any of those things begin in earnest, many Americans turn their attention to a curious spectacle that has become another holiday tradition: the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest.

The July 4 event typically draws thousands of spectators who brave the heat and the effects of inexplicable fervor to watch an elite corps of competitive eaters consume as many hot dogs as humanly possible in 10 minutes.

The definition of humanly possible has one meaning for most of the meat-eating world; it has quite another for most of the contestants. That is especially true for Mr. Chestnut and Ms. Sudo, who were back to possibly expand the notion of what is humanly possible.

Mr. Chestnut holds the men’s world record of 76 hot dogs and buns eaten in 10 minutes in 2021, while Ms. Sudo holds the women’s world record of 48.5 hot dogs in 10 minutes. Both were overwhelming betting favorites to win.

Mr. Chestnut, who is also known as Jaws, won the men’s contest for the 15th time last year by eating 63 hot dogs. Ms. Sudo won for the eighth time by eating 40 hot dogs.

Each won $10,000 for capturing their divisions this year.

For those of you who may be curious, scientists (scientists!) have determined that the human body is capable of eating — at most — 83 hot dogs in 10 minutes, according to a study published in 2020 that was based on 39 years’ worth of data from the contest.

According to that paper, the most elite human competitive eaters in the world could go toe-to-toe with a grizzly bear in terms of the amount of food eaten per unit of time.

Bears can eat about eight hot dogs per minute, and Mr. Chestnut can eat about 7.5 hot dogs per minute. But the bears usually tap out around six minutes, while Mr. Chestnut can scarf hot dogs for a solid 10 minutes straight.

Chelsia Rose Marcius contributed reporting.