What’s the record for hot dog eating? Inside famous contest dominated by Joey Chestnut
Have you ever asked yourself, ‘what is the fastest time to eat a hot dog?’ or ‘how many hot dogs could a person eat in a minute?’
Well, questions about hot dog eating are highly searched on Google, so we thought we would look back at some of the best Guinness World Records titles that involve hot dog eating.
To kick things off, we will look at Joey Chestnut (USA) who is a legend in the competitive eating world. Joey achieved one of his most notable titles at Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, an annual American competition that has hosted some of the world’s most famous competitive eaters since 1967.
On 4 July 2021, Joey achieved the Guinness World Records title for most hot dogs eaten at a Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest (male). To secure the title, Joey managed to eat an impressive total number of 76 hot dogs at the event that took place in Coney Island, New York, USA.
Joey first took part in the competition in 2005 when he consumed 32 hot dogs and buns in the 10-minute timed period. His first win of the competition was in 2007, and since then has been on a roll – literally!
He holds another Guinness World Records title for most wins of the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest (male), which after winning again this year on 4 July, his record increased to a total of 18.
Another legendary hot dog eater is Miki Sudo (USA) who competes in the women’s division of the competition. She holds her own Guinness World Records title for most hot dogs eaten at a Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest (female) which she achieved at the competition on 4 July 2024 with a total number of 51.
Miki has won every single edition of the contest that she has entered since 2014, leaving her with a total number of 12 wins. Her most recent victory being this year on 4 July when she consumed 38.75 hot dogs which also extended her Guinness World Records title of most wins of the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest (female).
Miki’s impressive hot dog eating skills don’t end there! On 22 October 2022 in Tampa, Florida, USA, she beat the Guinness World Records title for most hot dogs eaten in a minute. She a successfully put away six hot dogs and buns during the minute!
Miki is married to fellow competitive eater Nicholas Wehry (USA) who holds a record of his own: most hot dogs eaten in three minutes. Within the three-minute period, Nick manage to eat 12 hot dogs to secure the record!
The couple have completed some incredible record-breaking attempts in their time which you can read more about here.
At Guinness World Records, there are many individuals who make beating eating records look easy! One of those people is serial speed eater Leah Shutkever (UK) who over time has broken more than 40 Guinness World Records titles.
One of her many talents is achieving the title for fastest time to eat a hot dog with no hands which she achieved in a record-breaking 18.15 seconds!
Leah was born on 11 May 1990, and shares her birthday with Eat What You Want Day - what an incredible coincidence!
Have you ever wondered what the longest hot dog measured as? With over 120 kg of meat and 2 kg of salt among other things, the longest ever dog measured in at 203.80 m (688 ft 7.62 in). That would be around the same length as four Olympic swimming pools laid end to end – pretty long, right?!
This title was set by Novex S.A (Paraguay) at the Expoferia on 15 July 2011 and was created in celebration of Paraguay’s 200th anniversary as a country.
At GWR, we love all the things that make us unique! Do you think that you could snatch the crown from Joey Chestnut, or take on one of Leah Shutkever’s many records?
Header image: Photo by Ball Park Brand on Unsplash