He\u2019s the top dog for a reason.<\/p>\n
Bottomless pit Joey Chestnut once again took home the crown at the Nathan\u2019s Hot Dog Eating Contest<\/a>\u00a0Saturday afternoon, celebrating the 250th birthday of America with relish.<\/p>\n Chestnut, 41, scarfed down a nauseating 66 glizzies in 10 minutes to the delight of a ravenous estimated 25,000 spectator crowd in Coney Island to secure his astounding 18th Mustard Belt and $10,000 prize.<\/p>\n Joey Chestnut was the winner yet again at the Nathan\u2019s Hot Dog Eating Contest\u00a0Saturday. Stephen Yang<\/p>\n And he told The Post he may still have room for dessert.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI usually don\u2019t have this much spare room left over, but we\u2019ll see \u2026 something cold,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He said the weather took a toll on his high-octane eating.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely hard. I didn\u2019t want to go into it saying it\u2019s gonna affect\u00a0me, I wanna go into it and convince myself that I can work through it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI got the win but I knew like two minutes in \u2026 like wooo my face is woahh \u2013 but I didn\u2019t want to let it bother me. I didn\u2019t want to push it because if I push it, then things will get stuck in my throat and then I just needed to stay calm and keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n His 66 downed dogs\u00a0pale in comparison to\u00a0Chestnut\u2019s\u00a0own record of 76 franks he set at the competition in 2021.<\/p>\n This morning, he told \u201cGood Morning America<\/a>,\u201d that he was \u201cfeeling good\u201d before the competition. <\/p>\n This victory marks Chestnut\u2019s unrivaled 18th win at the 4th of July Nathan\u2019s Hot Dog Eating Contest.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m hungry, and it\u2019s a beautiful day. This is going to be a great Fourth of July,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n This week, he called competitive eating \u201cthe most patriotic sport we\u2019ve got,\u201d in an Instagram post<\/a>, where a fan replied, calling him \u201can American treasure.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJoey gotta get a record for the 250,\u201d another of Chestnut\u2019s supporters said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen i said I\u2019m proud to be an American this is what I\u2019m referring to,\u201d someone else gushed.<\/p>\n Spectators gather before the start of the 2026 Nathan\u2019s Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest at Coney Island. AP Photo\/Anna Connors<\/p>\n Patrick Bertoletti, 41, of\u00a0Blue Island, IL, landed in second, eating 50 hot dogs, and winning $5,000 for the feat.<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s No. 1 competitive eater James Webb, 37, came in third, with 48 dogs and taking home $2,500.<\/p>\n The dogs might\u2019ve tasted sweeter than normal this year for Chestnut \u2014 who pleaded guilty in April to a misdemeanor battery charge for getting involved in a bar altercation.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m hungry, and it\u2019s a beautiful day. This is going to be a great Fourth of July,\u201d Chestnut told \u201cGood Morning America\u201d on Saturday morning. Stephen Yang<\/p>\n The then-17-time champ struck a man with an open hand after the alleged victim just shook his hand in a fight he later told cops he was \u201cpretty drunk\u201d for and \u201cdidn\u2019t remember,\u201d according to court records.<\/p>\n His guilty plea means he was still under probation as he cinched his 18th Mustard Belt win.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not the first time Chestnut\u2019s personal beef overshadowed the Coney Island hot dog eating contest.<\/p>\n The big-mouthed eater was banned from the 2024 contest over his\u00a0deal with Impossible Foods, which had recently launched a plant-based hot dog.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n That allowed\u00a0Bertoletti\u00a0to eat his way to a win after scarfing down 58 dogs \u2014 becoming the first person since 2015 other than Chestnut to win the Nathan\u2019s Hot Dog Eating Competition.<\/p>\n Thomas Leible 19, a student of\u00a0economics and business at the Virginia Military\u00a0Institute told\u00a0The Post he\u2019s been watching competitive eating since he was 5 years old with his dad on TV and has been champing at the bit to watch superstar Chestnut.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been watching this since I was a little kid, and knowing that Joey Chestnut is the greatest of all time, and who knows when he\u2019s going to retire?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, there\u2019s nobody as dominant as him in any athletic event ever. I mean if you look back at somebody like Tom Brady who\u2019s not even close and doesn\u2019t have nearly half the records he has.\u201d <\/p>\n In the women\u2019s portion of the competition<\/a>, which took place before the men\u2019s, Florida mom Miki Sudo<\/a>\u00a0reigned supreme once again, taking home her 12th championship belt by chowing down on 38.75 glizzies.<\/p>\n Sudo\u2019s partner, competitive eater Nick Wehry, also partook in the contest.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t