Indiana woman to compete in Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest

INDIANAPOLIS — When one Hoosier can’t compete in a hot dog eating contest, another steps up to the challenge.

Rubianne Garcia’s got a flight to catch to New York, and it’s her first time in the Big Apple.

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“Once I’m there, I’m going to jaunt out to Coney Island and compete in the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Competition,” Garcia said.

Garcia may be small in stature, but this has been a big dream of hers.

It’s an item to check off her bucket list thanks to a colleague she met while working at Rolls Royce — a coworker, who was a regular on the major league circuit himself, gave Garcia a taste of the world of competitive eating.

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“One of my goals for 2024 was to get to Coney Island,” Garcia said.

Garcia practiced scarfing down hot dogs and downing cups of water, applied for the competition and cleared a Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest qualifying round in May in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

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“I’m just trying to keep moving forward, oh my gosh,” Garcia said as she showed WRTV’s Marc Mullins a video of her in the contest.

Quite frankly, her performance in May landed her a ticket to Nathan’s Fourth of July big showdown in New York.

“It was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be, but I’m really proud of the seven hot dogs I got down,” Garcia said. “Seven was the number to get me to Coney Island.”

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It’s the same competition Westfield resident and hot dog champion eater Joey Chestnut won’t be a part of because of a conflict of interest.

Still, Garcia is drawing some inspiration from a fellow Hoosier she wishes she’d have the chance to run into.

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“I hope he would say welcome to the crew,” Garcia said.

Garcia says she wants to beat her own record so she’s going for eight hot dogs in 10 minutes but is actually hoping to down 10.