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2024 marked the first time someone not named Joey Chestnut won the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in close to a decade after the legendary competitive eater was banned from participating over a sponsorship beef. However, it sounds like he may be allowed to attempt to regain possession of the Mustard Belt next month.
You might think I’m joking when I refer to Joey Chestnut as one of the world’s greatest living athletes, but if you (correctly) agree that competitive eaters fall under that particular umbrella, you have to respect the virtually unrivaled dominance of the man responsible for one of the most impressive dynasties of all time.
The 41-year-old can currently lay claim to over 55 different world records but is obviously best known for what he’s achieved at the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, which he won for the first time in 2007 en route to emerging victorious in 16 of 17 appearances (his lone loss during that stretch was to Matt Stonie in 2009).
However, things took an unexpected turn last year when he signed a deal with Impossible Foods, and his decision to join forces with a brand that specializes in plant-based meat alternatives led to Major League Eating banning him from taking part in the competition that’s annually staged on Coney Island on the Fourth of July.
Patrick Bertoletti ultimately won by cramming 58 hot dogs down his gullet a year after the G.O.A.T. housed 62, but television ratings took a dip as Chestnut held his own contest at a military base a couple of months before he set a new world record by eating 83 hot dogs during a showdown with Kobayashi in Las Vegas that Netflix aired on Labor Day (an event I was lucky enough to attend in person).
Chestnut noted he doesn’t have any sort of official contract with MLE or Nathan’s while asserting they were trying to change the rules of the contest he was barred from, and he certainly didn’t go out of his way to appease them by taking part in two other hot dog contests.
However, TMZ reports that reason could mercifully prevail ahead of this year’s showdown, as the outlet spoke with sources who say MLE is currently negotiating with Chestnut in the hopes of coming to an agreement that will result in him making his grand return on July 4th.
Here’s to hoping that ends up being the case, as it’s certainly not the same without him.