Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest 2024: Patrick Bertoletti Wins amid Joey Chestnut Ban

There is a new champion at the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Patrick Bertoletti finished off 58 hot dogs to take the crown vacated by Joey Chestnut during the Fourth of July competition. Miki Sudo won on the women’s side, setting a new women’s record with 51 hot dogs in a dominating performance.

Chestnut’s absence was by far the biggest storyline heading into the event. Considered the greatest competitive eater of all time, Chestnut was banned from this year’s competition after reaching an endorsement deal with Impossible Foods.

“Everything with Impossible was perfectly fine by all my previous agreements,” Chestnut told Emma Baccellieri of Sports Illustrated. “They changed terms and conditions [around] exclusivity. And it’s not the first time they’ve changed some things, but it’s the first time they’ve really changed things after the fact, and I had to say, “Hey, it’s too late, I’ve already started working with this brand.” This was never an issue in the past. And they tried to dance around it—they changed a lot of terms, and then they escalated things to a degree they didn’t imagine when they started leaking information and telling people I was banned and that I turned vegan, which clearly isn’t the case.”

In response to his ban, Chestnut agreed to attend the Pop Goes the Fort event at Fort Bliss and compete in a contest against four soldiers. He also agreed to a Netflix special set for later this year, competing against Takeru Kobayashi in a one-on-one battle set for September.

For reference, Chestnut ate 62 hot dogs.

We’ll have to see whether Chestnut decides to have a third competition in competition with Bertoletti to determine who is the top eater for the 2024 calendar year.