Chicago hot dog champ 'went into a different place' to win Fourth of July crown

(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — One day after winning the annual Nathan's Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest, Chicago native Patrick Bertoletti joined WBBM sister station 670 the Score to talk about his Fourth of July victory.

Bertoletti, who has previously placed second and third at the hot dog eating contest, told hosts Mark Grote and Gabe Ramierez he felt like there was more pressure this year after reigning champion Joey “Jaws” Chestnut announced that he would not attend the competition.

“Like three weeks prior, I found out he wasn’t there, and I had a suspicion that he wasn’t … I was very nervous before, and then 15 minutes before we started, I was like, ‘I got this,’” Bertoletti said. “I’ve been practicing a lot and just kind of went into a different place, and it just worked. I still can’t really believe it.”

The 39-year-old Bertoletti won a back-and-forth, 10-minute race to defeat 13 competitors from around the world. He said he lost weight and practiced for three months with "an urgency" to prepare for the event, thinking he had a good chance of winning.

Bertoletti ate 58 hot dogs and bested his prior record of 55 hot dogs at the event, which is held every Independence Day on New York's Coney Island, a beachfront destination with amusement parks and a carnivalesque summer culture.

Listen to the full interview below.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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