---
title: "At Nathan's Hot Dog Contest, Joey Chestnut Chases an 18th Mustard Belt"
description: "The Fourth of July brings the strangest of American traditions back to Coney Island: the Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest. Joey Chestnut, the sport's dominant figure, returns to chase an 18th title a year after ending a brief, contract-driven exile — while Miki Sudo aims to extend her own reign on the women's side."
category: "Sports"
category_url: https://herald.la/category/sports
author: "Arman Petrosyan"
published: 2026-07-02T10:45:56.000Z
updated: 2026-07-02T10:45:56.000Z
canonical: https://herald.la/article/at-nathan-s-hot-dog-contest-joey-chestnut-chases-an-18th-mustard-belt
tags: ["Nathan's", "competitive eating", "Joey Chestnut", "Coney Island", "Fourth of July"]
---
# At Nathan's Hot Dog Contest, Joey Chestnut Chases an 18th Mustard Belt

The Fourth of July brings the strangest of American traditions back to Coney Island: the Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest. Joey Chestnut, the sport's dominant figure, returns to chase an 18th title a year after ending a brief, contract-driven exile — while Miki Sudo aims to extend her own reign on the women's side.

Every Fourth of July, while the rest of the country reaches for a grill, a crowd gathers on Coney Island to watch people eat hot dogs faster than seems humanly possible. The Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest is back on Saturday, and its most famous face is back too.

## Chestnut goes for 18

Joey Chestnut, the most dominant competitive eater in the sport's history, will defend his title and pursue an 18th Mustard Belt, [CBS Sports reported](https://www.cbssports.com/general/news/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest-2026-start-time-where-to-watch-joey-chestnut/). His grip on the event is almost absurd: he holds the world record of 76 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes, set in 2021, and last year devoured 70.5.

His return carries a bit of narrative because of what happened two years ago. Chestnut sat out the 2024 contest after a dispute with Major League Eating over a sponsorship deal he had struck with the plant-based brand Impossible Foods — an awkward pairing for the world's most famous meat-eating contest. He came back in 2025 and promptly reclaimed the belt, winning his 17th title, [ESPN reported](https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/45670825/joey-chestnut-reclaims-title-nathan-hot-dog-eating-contest). Saturday is his bid to make it 18.

## Sudo's reign

The women's competition features its own runaway champion. Miki Sudo returns as the heavy favorite, chasing a fifth consecutive title. She owns the women's world record of 51 hot dogs and buns, set in 2024, and has spent years without a serious rival — the female counterpart to Chestnut's long dominance.

## A ritual, and its rules

For all the silliness, the contest is run with real rules. Eaters have 10 minutes, judges tally every dog and bun, and — in a detail that has ended more than one competitor's day — food must stay down through the finish for a result to count. The event traces back generations at the Surf and Stillwell avenues corner where the original Nathan's still stands, and it now draws a national television audience on the ABC and ESPN networks.

Whether Chestnut threatens his own record or simply outlasts the field, the outcome is rarely in doubt; the fun is in the spectacle. On a holiday built around excess, a contest devoted to eating as many hot dogs as a body can hold may be the most fitting tradition of all.

## Sources

- [Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest 2026: Where to watch, start time, preview](https://www.cbssports.com/general/news/nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest-2026-start-time-where-to-watch-joey-chestnut/)
- [Joey Chestnut reclaims title in Nathan's hot dog eating contest](https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/45670825/joey-chestnut-reclaims-title-nathan-hot-dog-eating-contest)