Every Winner in Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest History

Nate Cunningham | Aug 19, 2025

Competitive eater Joey “Jaws” Chestnut ate 57 hot dogs in five minutes at Fort Bliss’ “Pop Goes the Fort” Fourth of July celebration, beating his four competitors together at 49 hot dogs July 4, 2024. / Luis Torres/Special to the Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

Every year on the Fourth of July, as firework shows are prepared and Americans gather around the grill or pool to celebrate independence, a uniquely American tradition takes place on Coney Island.

The Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest.

With more than 100 years of an admittedly murky history, the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest has done everything from captivate to gross out Americans across the nation.

Origin of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest

The official origin story of the contest says that on July 4, 1916 four immigrant men held a hot dog eating contest to determine who was the most patriotic. It claims the event took place just outside of the original Nathan's stand on Coney Island.

The only problem? It was fake.

The story was made up in the 1970s by promoter Morty Matz, alongside the Nathan's marketing team and Max Rosey. While Nathan's does date back to 1916, there are no credible accounts of a hot dog eating contest having occurred.

The earliest verified Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest took place in the 1970s.

The Early Years (1972–1996)

The contest was fairly small for its first two decades. Starting as a bit of a sideshow attraction, the event drew local contestants and fairly small crowds as it relied on grassroots promotion.

The early 1990s were a turning point when Frank Dellarosa chomped down 21.5 hot dogs in 12 minutes. Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest began to garner more attention. By the mid-1990s the contest was sanctioned by the International Federation of Competitive Eating (later renamed Major League Eating).

George and Richard Shea (the founders of the IFOCE/MLE) began to transform the event into more of a spectacle by adding some over-the-top pageantry. This included regional qualifying events and very WWE-inspired introductions for the contestants.

The Arrival of Takeru Kobayashi (2001–2006)

While the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest was certainly on an upward trajectory entering the 2000s, the arrival of a 23-year-old Japanese hot dog devouring phenom really put the event on the map.

The man? Takeru Kobayashi.

The 2001 contest was Kobayashi's moment. In just 12 minutes, he ate 50 hot dogs, shattering the previous record of 25. Weighing in at just 130 lbs., Kobayashi didn't look like what most Americans figured a professional eater would.

Instead, he was hyper-focused on training and used a new strategy: Breaking the dogs in half and dipping the buns in water.

ESPN got involved shortly thereafter to broadcast the event and typically drew around one million or so viewers.

Kobayashi won the event six years in a row (2001-06), before being usurped by the man named 'Jaws.'

The Rise of Joey Chestnut (2007–Present)

Joey 'Jaws' Chestnut is the unquestioned G.O.A.T. of professional eaters. He has failed to win the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest just twice since 2007.

The first was in 2015, when he lost to Matt Stonie. The second was in 2024, when he wasn't allowed to compete due to a disagreement with MLE over his sponsorship deal with Impossible Foods.

Of course, this wasn't the first time MLE had upset fans and competitors.

In 2009, Kobayashi competed in his final Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, due to a dispute with MLE. Kobayashi claimed MLE's contract terms were too restrictive and controlling, so he never signed. As a result, he was barred from competing in the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest.

In 2010, Kobayashi jumped the security fence and ran onto the stage to either congratulate Chestnut (Kobayashi's story) or to be generally disruptive and take out his frustration (MLE's story).

That was the last time Kobayashi would be seen near the famous Nathan's hot dog stand.

Chestnut, meanwhile, would return to the contest in 2025, waxing the floor with his competition and downing more than 70 hot dogs en route to victory.

Every Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest Winner of the Last 25 Years

There were a number of format and rule changes over the years. Sometimes men and women competed together, sometimes apart. The time changed from three minutes to 12 to 10, sometimes including a one-minute timeout.

Luckily, since 2000, the rules have remained largely unchanged as the event's popularity reached its apex.

Year	Winner	Hot Dogs Consumed
2000	Kazutoyo Arai	25.125
2001	Takeru Kobayashi	50
2002	Takeru Kobayashi	50.5
2003	Takeru Kobayashi	44.5
2004	Takeru Kobayashi	53.5
2005	Takeru Kobayashi	49
2006	Takeru Kobayashi	53.75
2007	Joey Chestnut	66
2008	Joey Chestnut	59
2009	Joey Chestnut	68
2010	Joey Chestnut	54
2011	Joey Chestnut	62
2011	Sonya Thomas	40
2012	Joey Chestnut	68
2012	Sonya Thomas	45
2013	Joey Chestnut	69
2013	Sonya Thomas	36.75
2014	Joey Chestnut	61
2014	Miki Sudo	34
2015	Matt Stonie	62
2015	Miki Sudo	38
2016	Joey Chestnut	70
2016	Miki Sudo	38.5
2017	Joey Chestnut	72
2017	Miki Sudo	41
2018	Joey Chestnut	74
2018	Miki Sudo	37
2019	Joey Chestnut	71
2019	Miki Sudo	31
2020	Joey Chestnut	75
2020	Miki Sudo	48.5
2021	Joey Chestnut	76
2021	Michelle Lesco	30.75
2022	Joey Chestnut	63
2022	Miki Sudo	40
2023	Joey Chestnut	62
2023	Miki Sudo	39.5
2024	Patrick Bertoletti	58
2024	Miki Sudo	51
2025	Joey Chestnut	70.5
2025	Miki Sudo	33

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