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Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest not canceled, despite previous weather reports

Meby: Nick Geddes07/04/23NickGeddesNews

We’re back, baby! The 2023 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog-Eating Contest, previously reported to have been canceled due to severe weather in Coney Island, is back on.

According to Matt Pomeroy of ESPN, the annual July 4 men’s event will begin at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

Joey Chestnut, the 15-time champion and greatest hot dog eater of all-time, will, in fact, defend his crown and go for a record 16th championship. All is officially well in the U.S. after mother nature threatened to rob us all of a proper July 4 Tuesday.

“It’s going down baby! … We’re gonna go out there and pound some dogs,” Chestnut said after the weather delay.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) previously canceled the annual men’s event due to severe weather, according to ABC7NY. The competition had been under a lightning delay since before its scheduled start time of 12 p.m. ET.

Fortunately, we did get *some* hot dog action Tuesday, as the women’s competition commenced at 11 a.m. ET before the bad weather had rolled in to Coney Island. Miki Sudo won her record ninth contest after eating 39 and a half hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes.

The top female champion of all-time and current No. 1-ranked female competitive eater wasn’t as pleased with her performance — even in victory.

“39 is a low number I’m sorry you guys!” Sudo said. “I would not have left a partial hot dog on the table.”

Joey Chestnut reveals his meal approach leading up to Hot Dog Eating Contest

Heading into the now canceled 2023 event, Chestnut detailed what his preparation looks like in the days leading up to it.

“So I had a little salad for dinner, a protein supplement,” Chestnut said of what he ate on Sunday. “I might just have some over-easy eggs or something [Monday]. But really it’s going to be a liquid diet. And Tuesday I’ll go in completely empty the day of the contest.”

While he is the heavy favorite every year, he still has to train hard. Chestnut said he doesn’t take anything for granted heading into a competition.

“I’ll never disrespect my competitors. These guys – Geoff Esper, an awesome eater out of Boston. And he’s actually beaten me a bunch. And for some reason he hasn’t been able to put together a good performance in hot dog,” Chestnut said. “But one of these days he’s going to surprise a lot of people, and I’ve got to make sure I’m not surprised. And I’m not going to be lazy. This guy really can eat 66, 67 hot dogs. He just hasn’t put it together yet.”