Joey Chestnut has successfully defended his title at Coney Island's annual hot dog eating contest, but the victory didn't go down easily.
After 10 minutes and 59 hot dogs apiece, Chestnut was tied with
archrival and six-time champ Takeru Kobayashi. The competition then headed to a five-dog eat-off where Chestnut downed the dogs the quickest to grab the coveted mustard-yellow title belt and $10,000 top prize.
In addition to Kobayashi, Chestnut bested 18 other gluttonous
gladiators in a competition that was two minutes shorter than in
years past. The contest was shortened after it was revealed that
the original competition in 1916 was just 10 minutes long.
An International Federation of Competitive Eating founder says
this is the first time in his memory that the contest went into
overtime.
Chestnut and Kobayashi will battle again in September during the
World Hamburger Eating Championship.