Florida’s Miki Sudo Defends Hot Dog Eating Title

CONEY ISLAND, N.Y. – A proud Florida local accomplished an impressive athletic feat on Tuesday. Miki Sudo of Port Richey, Florida, won the women’s division of the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest for the ninth time, re-establishing herself as the premiere female competitive eater in the world. Sudo’s victory came just before that of men’s champion Joey Chestnut, who like Sudo holds the world record for competitive hot dog eating. The duo have become nationally known for their feats in the annual Independence Day contest, which is held in Coney Island, New York. Sudo downed 39.5 hot dogs in a 10-minute timeframe, with Mayoi Ebihara coming in second at 33 dogs. She did not come close to challenging her contest record of 48.5, set in 2020. With her 2023 victory Sudo has now won the women’s contest every year since 2014, save for 2021 when she sat out due to pregnancy. One or both of Sudo and Chestnut have won each year since 2006, before men and women split their contests into two events. “I found myself watching [Ebihara], which I never want to do,” Sudo said to explain her lower number compared to other years. “I just want people to know that I would not have left a partial hot dog on the table.”