US competitive eater Joey Chestnut has just achieved a new world record at the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest on Saturday in New York, as the United States celebrate its 244th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, considered to be the birth of the nation.
Chestnut ate 75 hot dogs in just 10 minutes, winning the Mustard Belt at the contest, while breaking his own 2018 world record of 74 hot dogs.
“It was hard, but I knew I was fast at the beginning,” Chestnut said in a statement to ESPN following the contest. “The dogs were cooked really well today. At minute 6 is where I missed the crowd. I hit a wall. It took a little more work to get through it”.
This year’s Nathan's contest took place without a live audience due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Competitors were separated by glass barriers and were supplied with fresh hot dogs by people wearing protective masks.
The win is considered the competitive eater’s 13th title in 14 years. The new achievement also marks Chestnut's swallowing of his 1,000th career processed meat tube.