Joey Chestnut grills competition in return to Nathan's event

The Fourth of July was made whole once again as Joey Chestnut returned to the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest after a one-year hiatus to devour the competition Friday for his 17th career title of the famed event at New York's Coney Island.

After sitting out last year's competition because of a sponsorship conflict, Chestnut gulped down 70 1/2 hot dogs with buns in 10 minutes to make a meal out of 2024 winner Patrick Bertoletti, who finished second by eating 46 1/2 hot dogs and buns.

Among the 15 competitors, there were rivals from as far away as Australia and Brazil.

Chestnut ended up falling short of his record 76 hot dogs and buns the Indiana native consumed in the 2021 contest.

But with Chestnut back, the contest returned to being the food frenzy it once was. When Bertoletti won last year, he did it by eating 58 of the backyard-grill delicacies.

Instead of competing at Coney Island last year, Chestnut took part in a five-minute contest in El Paso, Texas, against four Army soldiers at Fort Bliss, and won that with a total of 57 hot dogs and buns.

In the women's competition Friday, Miki Sudo of Tampa, Fla., won her 11th Nathan's title by eating 33 hot dogs and buns. Sudo won despite falling well short of her record total of 51 last year.

"I feel like I let the fans down a little bit. I heard people in the crowd saying, ‘Go for 52,'" Sudo told ESPN. "Obviously, I'm always setting my goals high, but the hot dogs weren't cooperating. For some reason, the buns felt larger today."

--Field Level Media