Joey Chestnut's Dominance Thrills Fans After 17th Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest Win

Joey Chestnut reclaimed the Mustard Belt by eating 70.5 hot dogs and buns in his return to the Nathan's annual Fourth of July contest.

Chestnut came back after a one-year ban to unseat reigning champion Patrick Bertoletti and claim his record-extending 17th career win on Friday.

"I'll be back next year," Chestnut said on the ESPN broadcast after the win.

Bertoletti finished second after eating 46.5 hot dogs and buns, while James Webb came in third with 45.5 hot dogs and buns eaten.

Fans praised Chestnut as a "generational talent" while watching him dominate the field at Coney Island.

Chestnut climbed out to a ten hot-dog lead over Bertoletti at the three-minute mark of Friday's contest, according to the ESPN broadcast. He had increased that to a 20-dog advantage seven minutes into the contest.

Chants of "Joey" rang out at Coney Island as Chestnut downed his 70th hot dog and bun at the buzzer.

Chestnut claimed his first victory at Nathan's annual contest in 2007 by eating 66 hot dogs to unseat six-time defending champion Takeru Kobayashi.

He went on to win eight straight contests. After losing to Matthew Stonie in 2015, he won another eight straight before missing the 2024 competition due to a sponsorship conflict.

Chestnut set the world record by eating 76 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes during the 2021 edition of the competition.

Heading into Friday, he had eaten a total of 1,214 hot dogs in 19 career appearances at the contest, averaging 63.9 hot dogs per appearance at Coney Island, per USA Today's Jacob Camenker.

Chestnut holds more than 50 world records in a range of competitive eating categories ranging from hot dogs to pies, hamburgers, chicken wings, tacos and eggs, according to Major League Eating.

Reigning women's champion Miki Sudo retained her title earlier in the day after eating 33 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. Sudo has won 11 times in the last 12 years, with her only missing title coming when she sat out the 2021 competition while pregnant.