Joey Chestnut wins 4th of July Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest for unrivaled 18th time

Honestly, Miki has had to live in the shadow of Chesnut here entire life. She's never gotten the rccognition she's deserved...why because she's a woman. I can no longer watch this contest. It's too painful.

Joey Chestnut wins 4th of July Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest for unrivaled 18th time

By Katherine Donlevy, Angela Barbuti and Sofia Poznansky

Published July 4, 2026

Joey “Jaws” Chestnut gobbled his way to victory once again at the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest Saturday in Coney Island, scarfing down 66 wieners and buns in a dominant performance he said was hampered only by the scorching temps.

“Eating here on the Fourth of July is a dream; it’s electric. There’s no place better on Earth,” said Chestnut, wearing a gaudy, bejeweled Polymarket necklace, for the sports betting company, around his neck.

The win earned Chestnut, 41, his record 18th coveted Mustard Yellow Belt, the Stanley Cup to competitive eaters, and $10,000. It was his second consecutive title.

On the women’s side, Florida mom Miki Sudo captured her 12th championship belt by scarfing down a gut-busting 38.75 wieners.

The temperature at the start of the men’s contest was 90 degrees, and Chestnut admitted the weather took a toll on his high-octane eating.

Spectators gather along a street lined with storefronts, including "Pepper Palace" and "White Castle," at Coney Island for the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest.

“I usually don’t have this much spare room left over, but we’ll see — something cold,” he said.

“It’s definitely hard. I didn’t want to go into it saying it’s going to affect me, I wanna go into it and convince myself that I can work through it,” he said.

“I didn’t want to let it bother me. I didn’t 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.”

After his win, Chestnut told The Post he still had room for dessert.

“I’m hungry, and it’s a beautiful day. This is going to be a great Fourth of July,” Chestnut told “Good Morning America” on Saturday morning.

Stephen Yang

Chestnut, who has won 18 times out of 21 appearances at the internationally televised event, crushed the second-place winner, Patrick Bertoletti, 41, who managed 51 hot dogs, but was well shy of his own 2021 record of 76 wieners and buns.

In 2024, Chestnut was banned from the contest over his sponsorship deal with plant-based meat substitute company Impossible Foods, leaving Bertoletti the victor—and the first person since 2015 other than Jaws to win the contest, with 58 dogs and buns.

Defending champ Sudo, 40, said there was no way she was going to lose this July 4th — America’s 250th birthday,

“Today was not the day to lose, just to be honest. You know, we’ve got the broadcast with America 250 on ABC. It is America 250, so there’s that added celebration — extra eyes on us,” Sudo told The Post.

“And the crowd really just pushed me through to the 12th belt. I didn’t want to lose, especially with my family in the crowd.”

Thomas Leible 19, a business student at the Virginia Military Institute, made the trip to Coney Island for the first time — and was champing at the bit to watch superstar Chestnut.

Sudo improved on her winning tally of 33 last year, but was still a far cry from the record-breaking 51 she gobbled in 2024. After her win, she watched her hubby Nick Wehry compete in the men’s event, where he consumed 45.5 dogs and buns.

Miki Sudo holds her trophy afte winning the hot dog eating contest.

“I mean, there’s nobody as dominant as him in any athletic event ever. I mean if you look back at somebody like Tom Brady who’s not even close and doesn’t have nearly half the records he has.”

He got Sudo to autograph his T-shirt, calling her just as dominant as Chestnut.

“Two GOATS,” he said.