The 37-year-old devoured 63 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes, a far cry from the record 76 he devoured last year. The number still dwarfed that of Chestnut’s nearest competitor, Geoffrey Esper, by 20 dogs. Kastanos shocked the competitive nutrition world on Friday when he appeared at the official weigh-in on crutches. A tendon injury forced him to compete Monday in a medical boot. Monday’s dominant victory marked the first time since 2019 that the competition was held at its usual location, the original Nathan’s at Surf Avenue and Stillwell Avenue in Coney Island, Brooklyn. Last year’s game was a limited-admission, ticketed event at nearby Maimonides Baseball Field, home of the Brooklyn Cyclones. Monday’s win for Chestnut marked his 15th in the contest. Joey Chestnut’s victory marked the first time since 2019 that the competition was held at its usual location. Paul Martinka Ranked the No. 1 competitive eater in the world by Major League Eating, the former California resident has won all but one of the Nathan’s competitions since 2006. Eight-time champion Miki Sudo won the women’s hot dog competition held earlier on Sunday. Longtime fans expressed relief and excitement at the return of the flagship of this year’s competition. “It’s a tradition in my family to come here every Fourth of July, so here we are,” said Daphne, 26, of Brownsville. Neighborhood resident Joe Manny, 32, didn’t expect the event to return to “normal.” “I’ve always come to Coney Island every Fourth of July for this pageant, so to be back in person as we’re coming out of the pandemic is great because I didn’t think people would get back to normal,” he said.
