Chestnut wasn't there to defend his crown following a conflict of interest after he signed with "Impossible Foods," which was deemed a direct rival to Nathan's. The controversy dominated headlines and led to an increased interest in the competition, as a new winner would be crowned.
That winner was Bertoletti , who beat favorites such as James Webb and Geoffrey Esper with an impressive total of 58 hot dogs in 10 minutes. Bertoletti was flooded with emotions after achieving his dream as he told Mirror Sports U.S.: "It doesn’t feel real. I’ve wanted this for so long. I’m sure after the meat sweats are gone I’ll be ready for a nap."
Bertoletti is currently ranked No. 9 in Major League Eating's official rankings, although he's set to increase his status following the win at Nathan's. However, Bertoletti doesn't care about his ranking and doesn't focus on it, admitting winning on July 4 was all he ever set out to do in the industry.
"This is all I’ve ever wanted to do in eating so, the ranking I don’t care. Maybe I deserve better, I don’t know," Betoletti added. "But I don’t care I’m just thrilled today."
Bertoletti trained hard for the event and admitted that he surpassed 60 hot dogs in practice which was almost replicated on the famous stage in Coney Island, NY. "I got up to 60 in my last practice but it’s easy in practice, it’s hard to do it on the day. I wanted to hit 55 as that’s my best so I’m very happy today."
The contest was extremely exciting, with four competitors exceeding 50 hot dogs which meant the judges had to take their time when awarding the eventual champion. Most years it's been easy to call, due to Chestnut's dominance.
Chestnut has won the contest 16 times, and since his first win back in 2007, only Matt Stonie (2015) has beaten him. Compared to Bertoletti's total of 58, Chestnut has surpassed that on 15 of his 16 contest wins.
In the women's competition, it was Miki Sudo who continued her dominance, clinching her 10th crown and doing so with a new women's record. Sudo beat her existing record of 48.5 and ate 51 hot dogs on Thursday, and told fans she will now look to hit 55.
"My 10th belt, I’m still undefeated and this is a major milestone for me," she told reporters. "Even after 10 years in the game I still have more to give and next year I hope I put up bigger numbers. You’re not done with me just yet. 50 has been my goal for several years now. Next year let’s go for 55."
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