By — Andrew Mach Andrew Mach Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/hot-dog-competitive-eaters-converge-coney-island-contest Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Hot dog! Competitive eaters converge at Coney Island contest Nation Jul 4, 2015 2:37 PM EDT There’s a new top dog in town. In a gut-wrenching upset, Matt “Megatoad” Stonie defeated eight-time reigning hot-dog eating champ Joey “Jaws” Chestnut the 2015 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, an event as American as, er, hot dogs, held every Fourth of July on Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. Stonie, 23, won this year’s title by polishing off 62 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. Chestnut, 31, who holds the contest’s current record of 69 hot dogs, ate only 60. In the women’s contest, Miki Sudo reigned supreme by consuming 38 hot dogs. Thousands of people descend on Coney Island every year to witness the event, which has taken place at Nathan’s Famous Corporation’s original and best-known restaurant since 1972. Matt Stonie (R) is crowned winner of the annual Fourth of July 2015 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in Brooklyn, New York July 4, 2015. Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters. Matt Stonie consumes hot dogs during the annual Fourth of July 2015 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in Brooklyn, New York July 4, 2015. Photo by Andrew Kellly/Reuters. Miki Sudo, winner of Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in the Women’s division, eats a hot dog during the competition in Brooklyn, New York July 4, 2015. Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters. Fans gather at The Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest in Coney Island, New York, on July 4, 2015. Photo by Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images. Kevin McDonald of Jackson, New Jersey, prepares sausages for Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in Brooklyn, New York July 4, 2015. McDonald has been cooking the sausages for the contest since 1997 and averages 2,600 sausages cooked per year. Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters. Hot dogs are seen on the stage before Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in Brooklyn, New York July 4, 2015. Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters. Bob Spam of Bellmore, New York eats a hot dog before the commencement of Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in Brooklyn, New York July 4, 2015. Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters By — Andrew Mach Andrew Mach Andrew Mach is a former Digital Editor for PBS NewsHour in New York City, where he manages the online editorial direction of the national broadcast's weekend edition. Formerly, Mach was a news editor and staff writer for NBC News. He's also written for the Christian Science Monitor in Boston and had stints at ABC News, the Washington Post and German network ZDF in Berlin, in addition to reporting for an investigative journalism project in Phoenix. Mach was a recipient of the 2016 Kiplinger Fellowship, the 2015 RIAS German/American Exchange fellowship by the Radio Television Digital News Foundation and the 2012 Berlin Capital Program Fulbright. He attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is a native of Aberdeen, South Dakota. @andrewjmach
There’s a new top dog in town. In a gut-wrenching upset, Matt “Megatoad” Stonie defeated eight-time reigning hot-dog eating champ Joey “Jaws” Chestnut the 2015 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, an event as American as, er, hot dogs, held every Fourth of July on Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. Stonie, 23, won this year’s title by polishing off 62 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. Chestnut, 31, who holds the contest’s current record of 69 hot dogs, ate only 60. In the women’s contest, Miki Sudo reigned supreme by consuming 38 hot dogs. Thousands of people descend on Coney Island every year to witness the event, which has taken place at Nathan’s Famous Corporation’s original and best-known restaurant since 1972. Matt Stonie (R) is crowned winner of the annual Fourth of July 2015 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in Brooklyn, New York July 4, 2015. Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters. Matt Stonie consumes hot dogs during the annual Fourth of July 2015 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in Brooklyn, New York July 4, 2015. Photo by Andrew Kellly/Reuters. Miki Sudo, winner of Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in the Women’s division, eats a hot dog during the competition in Brooklyn, New York July 4, 2015. Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters. Fans gather at The Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest in Coney Island, New York, on July 4, 2015. Photo by Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images. Kevin McDonald of Jackson, New Jersey, prepares sausages for Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in Brooklyn, New York July 4, 2015. McDonald has been cooking the sausages for the contest since 1997 and averages 2,600 sausages cooked per year. Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters. Hot dogs are seen on the stage before Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in Brooklyn, New York July 4, 2015. Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters. Bob Spam of Bellmore, New York eats a hot dog before the commencement of Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in Brooklyn, New York July 4, 2015. Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters