Danielle Solzman
If it’s the 4th of July, it means watching Joey Chestnut try and break his own record during Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island.
The 2025 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest will feature the return of the most dominant eater the event has ever had. Returning to the iconic corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues on Coney Island is 16-time Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest champion, Joey Chestnut.
“Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest is the highlight of summer and one of our nation’s greatest holiday traditions,” said Phil McCann, Vice President of Marketing at Nathan’s Famous. “Nathan’s flagship restaurant on the corner of Surf and Stillwell stands at the patriotic epicenter of the year each July 4.”
“We are thrilled to have Joey Chestnut back for this year’s Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating contest, an event that stands as an enduring beacon of freedom for our nation and the world,” said George Shea, Major League Eating Chair. “We look forward to watching the world’s greatest eaters as they compete on this celebrated platform for international sports.”
ESPN has exclusive live broadcast rights of the 2025 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest from 10:45 a.m. ET to the conclusion of the event, and marks the 22nd consecutive year ESPN has televised the competition. Coverage of the women’s competition begins at 10:45 a.m. ET on ESPN3. The men’s competition airs at Noon ET on ESPN2, with re-airs at 5 p.m. ET and 9 p.m. ET on ESPN and 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The women’s competition will also be recapped within the men’s competition at Noon ET.
Pre-show festivities begin at 10:00 AM ET, featuring several live performances including musical and dance acts. The Women’s Championship begins at 11:00 AM ET, and the Men’s Championship begins at 12:30 PM ET.
Hosting the 2025 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest will be the duo of E60 and The Sports Reporters Host Jeremy Schaap and Major League Eating President Rich Shea. On-site reporting will be by College Sports Play-by-Play Commentator Tiffany Greene.
As for the eaters, the 2025 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest features the top-ranked male, Chestnut, and female, Miki Sudo. Chestnut returns with aspirations of regaining the Mustard Belt following his one-year absence. Sudo looks to win her fourth-straight Mustard Belt and her 11th overall. Some other notable eaters include 2024 men’s Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Champion and No. 2 ranked eater Patrick Bertoletti, No. 3 ranked eater Geoffrey Esper, No. 4 ranked eater James Webb, No. 6 ranked eater Nick Wehry, and No. 9 ranked eater Michelle Lesco, among others.
Last year, World Champion Patrick Bertoletti claimed his first Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest victory with 58 hot dogs and buns in the 10-minute, all-you-can-eat contest. Miki Sudo, the number-one-ranked female in the world, dominated the competition with a world record 51 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes for her 10th win. On July 4, 2025, top male and female eaters from throughout America, and from England, Canada, Brazil, Czechia, and Australia will seek to break the men’s world record of 76, set by Joey Chestnut, and the women’s world record of 51.
Last year, Geoffrey Esper of Oxford, MA, finished in second place with 53; James Webb of Sydney, Australia in third with 52; Nick Wehry of Port Ritchey, FL, in fourth with 46.75, and King Yamamoto of Japan in fifth with 46.
In last year’s women’s competition, Mayo Ebihara of Japan finished in second place with 37; Michelle Lesco of Tucson, AZ, finished in third place with 23.5; Larell Marie Mele of Long Pond, PA, in fourth with 14.5, and Tandra Childress of San Francisco, CA in fifth with 13.
Thousands make the pilgrimage to Surf and Stillwell avenues in Coney Island each year to watch the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in person. According to Major League Eating archives, the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Championship has occurred each July 4th in Coney Island, NY, since 1916, the year Nathan Handwerker opened the legendary restaurant. MLE, the governing body of all stomach-centric sports, sanctions the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Circuit and ensures the contests are judged professionally and that safety standards are in place at each event.
The Field of Eaters
Men’s:
- Joey Chestnut
- Patrick Bertoletti
- James Webb
- Nick Wehry
- Geoffrey Esper
- Max Stanford
- Derek Hendrickson
- George Chiger
- Ricardo Corbucci
- Gideon Oji
- Adrian Morgan
- Radim Dvoracek
- Darrien Thomas
- Cameron Meade
- Jerome Burns
Women’s:
- Miki Sudo
- Michelle Lesco
- Domenica Dee
- Tandra Childress
- Katie Prettyman
- Larell Marie Mele
- Isabeau Prettyman
- Jocelyn Young
- Kelly Lewis
- Camille O’Brien
- Elizabeth Salgado
- Cherish Brown
- Madison Barone
- Laura Beitler
During the competitions, Chestnut and Sudo will have isolation cameras on them on ESPN3. The Sudo camera will be at 11 a.m. ET and the Chestnut camera at 12:30 p.m. ET.
The men’s world record is 76 hot dogs and buns, set by Chestnut in 2021, while on the women’s side, Sudo looks to top her 51 hot dogs and buns performance set in 2024.
Nathan’s Famous will also make its annual donation of 100,000 Nathan’s Famous hot dogs to the Food Bank for New York City prior to the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest.
The Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest women’s competition airs at 10:45 AM ET on ESPN3. The men’s competition will follow at 12 PM ET on ESPN2, with additional encores taking place at 5 PM ET and 9 PM ET on ESPN and 6 PM ET on ESPN2.
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