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Independence Day is right around the corner and for a specific set of elite athletes, that means it’s their chance to prove themselves to the world. Competitive Eaters from far and wide are gathering on the 4th of July to decide who can really eat the most hot-dogs in a single sitting. Hot-dog eaters are only a single subdivision of the sport, however. Like a track meet, there are many different forms and many different records waiting to be broken. In honor of our heroes who will be attempting to eat their way to stardom on America’s Birthday this Wednesday, here is a look back on the greatest accomplishments of the toughest eaters out there.
1. Joey Chestnut: 72 Hot Dogs in 10 minutes
For those new to the game, Jory Chestnut is Lebron James. His stamina, technique, conditioning, metabolism, and heart are unmatched – his numbers speak for themselves. At Nathan’s famous hot dog eating contest in Coney Island, which is like the Superbowl of Hot Dog eating, Chestnut narrowly bested his previous record of 70 Hot Dogs in 10 minutes. So, Joey Chestnut eating 72 Hot Dogs in 10 minutes is like if Lebron James won the Superbowl if that makes any sense. Chestnut made $10,000 for finishing first place in 2017. And for fun, take a look at Chestnut’s caloric intake for that day:
Calories: 20,160
Sodium: 56,160 mg
Total Fat: 1,296 g
Saturated fat: 432 g
Trans fat: 36 g
Monounsaturated fat: 0 g
Potassium: 0 mg
Total Carbs: 1,728 g
Dietary Fiber: 72 g
Sugars: 288 g
Protein: 720 g
Cholesterol: 2,160 mg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIq-iiwVeBs
2. Matt Stonie: 200 Peeps in 5 minutes
Eating a single Peep is hard enough to do, so Matt Stonie downing 200 in a single sitting is impressive on a biblical level. For this challenge, Stonie ate 5600 calories and 1360 grams of sugar, making him the person I hate most in this world, coming from someone who puts on 10lbs just for thinking about bread. Matt Stonie has also triumphed over an 11,000 calories sundae, a 20,000 calorie Superbowl meal, and well, literally anything you can probably think of.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97ihzsFAg9E
3. Takeru Kobayashi: Cow Brains
Here is some thought for food (hehehe), how did Takeru Kobayashi eat 17.7 pounds of cow brains? His feat is believed to be evidence for divine intervention. Jokes on the side and cow brains for an entree, Takeru Kobayashi’s record has yet to be beaten. You can witness Kobayashi eating a measly 10lbs of cow brains below, something he did several years ago. Wow, look how far he’s come.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSUUEAq4NDs
4. Oleg Zhornitskiy: 1 Gallon of Mayonaise
You remember Mayonaise, right? It’s the stuff in egg salad that makes it taste great but you know it’s disgusting so you lie to yourself and pretend you can’t taste it? It’s nothing but egg yolks, oil, and vinegar, after all. That’s probably what Oleg Zhornitskiy was telling himself right before he battled through four, 32-ounce bowls of mayonnaise is in 8 minutes. Sadly his achievement is apparently a classified tape unavailable to the public, and my extensive internet search couldn’t uncover it to share. Instead, Check out Matt Stonie eating other gross stuff while you’re here, though:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYZ-eGEDO0w
5. Joey Chestnut: Twinkies
Considering how many records he holds, it might be safe to say Joey Chestnut, and his cohorts put people like Adam Richman, host of Man Vs. Food, and Harley Morenstein of Epic Meal Time, to shame. In this competition, he put away 121 Twinkies in 6 minutes for a total of 18,200 calories.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNz15nuJhsI
The 2018 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest will air on Wednesday, July 4th.
10:50 ET – WOMEN’S COMPETITION – ESPN3 / ESPN APP
12P ET – MEN’S COMPETITION – ESPN2
Men’s competition will also re-air on ESPN2 at 4p and 7:30p ET
