‘Jaws’ downs 72 hot dogs in just 10 minutes
JOEY “Jaws” Chestnut, a competitive eater, talks like any other athlete. Conditioning is key for pushing the body to its limit, the 33-yearold Californian says.
He certainly stretched that limit on Tuesday, downing 72 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes at the annual wiener-eating contest on New York’s Coney Island, a tradition that marks every Independence Day holiday in the US.
Chestnut won the competition for the 10th time and improved on the speed-eating tally he posted last summer.
In the 2016 edition of the eat-fest at the Nathan’s Famous beachside hot dog stand – it began way back in 1916 – Chestnut wolfed down 70 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes to win the title. His personal record – and the world record – is 73.5 dogs and buns in 10 minutes, but that came during a qualifying round rather than an actual contest.
After Tuesday’s victory, organiser George Shea praised Chestnut as if he were a warrior returning from a distant battlefield.
“He is an American hero. He stands as a representative of freedom, of the American ideal,” said Mr Shea to the 30,000 people who turned out to watch the competition.
Chestnut spoke of himself in more measured language.
“I am just a goofy dude who likes to eat. I am a lucky guy, to travel around the world and eat and make people smile,” he told reporters. And Chestnut – who began eating competitively in 2005 in an asparagus-munching contest – does in fact want to get better for next year.
“I need to work on my condition so I don’t sweat as much, because it slowed me down,” Chestnut said.
“I’ll figure it out. I’ll make my body work better.”