Joey Chestnut Wins Fifth Consecutive Hot Dog Eating Contest

If you feel like you had one too many hot dogs this July 4th, you are not the only one. However, very few people indulged the way 27-year old Joey Chestnut did - He wolfed down 62 of them complete with buns and all!

Not impressed? How about if we tell you he ate them all within ten minutes. As you have probably guessed by now, Joey was not eating for fun, but trying to win the prestigious Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest', that he has dominated for the last four years. This year was no exception - The hot dog champion out ate his closest competitor, Patrick Bertoletti, by 9 wieners!

Just before Joey's impressive win, Alexandria resident Sonya Thomas AKA Black Widow, made history by winning the first ever women's hot dog eating competition. She managed to chow down 40 hot dogs in ten minutes. The two champions each took home a $10,000 USD prize - Not bad for a 10-minute eating frenzy!

Held annually in Coney Island, New York since 1916, the contest rose to fame in 2001, when Japanese rookie Takeri Koyabashi devoured 50 hot dogs in the allotted 10-minutes, more than double the amount eaten by the previous year's winner. Takeri went on to win it six more times, before young Joey showed up on the scene in 2007 - The rest, as they say, is history!

sources: Nathansfamous.com, Forbes.com