Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest 2019: Joey Chestnut's Final Stats, Prize Money

Nobody in the world eats hot dogs as efficiently as Joey Chestnut. And the competitive eating king was back atop his throne on Thursday.

Chestnut became a 12-time champion of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, an annual Fourth of July tradition, by devouring 71 hot dogs in 10 minutes. He may not have broken his world record of 74, set during the 2018 contest, but he ate at least 70 hot dogs for the fourth consecutive year.

The 35-year-old has accumulated those wins in a span of 15 years. The California native once again dominated the field this year, besting second-place finisher Darron Breeden, who ate 50 hot dogs, and third-place finisher Geoffrey Esper, who ate 47.

However, Chestnut was disappointed he didn't reach 75 hot dogs, but he believes that will happen in the future.

"I'm a little disappointed, but I got to win. I annihilated the competition," Chestnut said, according to the New York Post's Khristina Narizhnaya and Ruth Brown. "I'm not full, I have plenty of room. I practice and I love this. I just need to find a way to move a little bit faster. Find a way that will help me break the record."

Most people would have been very full. According to Darren Rovell of The Action Network, Chestnut's 71 hot dogs and buns contained 20,590 calories, 1,172 grams of fat, 2,130 milligrams of cholesterol and 781 grams of protein.

Chestnut took home $10,000 for coming in first place. The rest of the $40,000 overall purse was distributed among those who finished second, third, fourth and fifth.

There was also a $40,000 overall purse for the women's competition, which took place before Chestnut won the men's title. For the sixth straight year, the $10,000 first-place prize went to Miki Sudo, who ate 31 hot dogs, besting second-place finisher Michelle Lesco by four-and-a-half hot dogs.

Sarah Stier/Associated Press

However, Sudo was 10 short of her previous best of 41, which she achieved in 2017. And like Chestnut, Sudo expressed some disappointment after the showing.

"The heat just distracted me, but it's because of my great competitors who supported me along this journey that I was able to get this win," Sudo said, according to the Narizhnaya and Brown. "It was just really hot and I didn't do my training right."

Nonetheless, both Chestnut and Sudo had strong showings and continued their respective dominance on the competitive eating scene. And of course, there's always next year for both to try to shatter records.