Joey Chestnut hit new heights in competitive eating Monday, scarfing down 83 hot dogs in 10 minutes to decisively beat old rival Takeru Kobayashi in Netflix’s “Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef.”
Mr. Kobayashi, 46, ate 67 hot dogs, a higher total than any of his appearances at the July 4th Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contests, but a whopping 16 dogs behind Mr. Chestnut, 40, who at 83 smashed his previous world record of 76 at the 2021 Nathan’s contest.
Streaming on Netflix on Labor Day afternoon live from Las Vegas, the contest was the first between Mr. Chestnut and Mr. Kobayashi since 2009, the last time the two faced off at the Nathan’s contest.
Ahead of the competition, Mr. Kobayashi said besting Mr. Chestnut was the one hurdle he had left to climb in competitive eating.
‘Retiring for me will only happen after I take him down one last time,” Mr. Kobayashi said in a release from Netflix. His personal record is 69, set at a 2011 competition that did not involve Mr. Chestnut, according to The Athletic.
Mr. Chestnut had the historic edge in the rivalry.
He was a runner-up in his first two outings at the Nathan’s contest, finishing third in 2005 with 32 hot dogs to Mr. Kobayashi’s 49 and finishing second in 2006 with 52 to Mr. Kobayashi’s 53 3/4.
However, Mr. Chestnut rebounded by winning head-to-head in the Nathan’s July 4 showdown in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
The 2008 contest was particularly dramatic. The pair finished at 59 apiece after 10 minutes, and in a five-dog sudden death round Mr. Chestnut finished 7 seconds ahead, netting him the win.
Mr. Kobayashi bowed out of the Nathan’s contest after 2009 due to a contract dispute with Major League Eating, which runs it each year.
Mr. Chestnut credited Mr. Kobayashi with motivating him, saying after the Netflix contest that “It’s amazing. I’ve been trying to hit 80 hot dogs for years and without Kobayashi I was never able to do it,” according to CNN.
As a prize, Mr. Chestnut took home a hot dog trophy, a professional wrestling-style title belt and $100,000.
Mr. Chestnut, for his part, won every Nathan’s contest from 2007 through 2014 and then every contest from 2016 through 2023, his only loss in between the two streaks coming to Matthew Stonie in 2015.
Mr. Chestnut was not part of the Nathan’s contest this year due to his endorsement deal with Impossible Foods, a competitor brand that sells plant-based meat alternatives. At his own July 4 event this summer, Mr. Chestnut ate 57 of the vegetarian dogs in only five minutes, outpacing his record-setting rate of chowing down Monday.
In lieu of Mr. Chestnut, Patrick Bertoletti came in first at the 2024 Nathan’s contest with 58 hot dogs eaten in 10 minutes.
Mr. Kobayashi previously announced his retirement from competitive eating in the Netflix documentary “Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut” earlier this year.
“I feel like I did everything I could,” Mr. Kobayashi, a Japanese national, said through an interpreter after the event, according to CNN.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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