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Joey Chestnut Biography

Speed Eater

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Joey Chestnut ate 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes to win the 2007 Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest at Coney Island. He dethroned the six-time champ Takeru Kobayashi, who managed 63 hot dogs in the same competition. Chestnut made his name in competitive eating when he ate 59 and 1/2 hot dogs on 2 June 2007 at a contest in Tempe, Arizona, shattering the previous world record of 53 and 1/2 dogs held by Kobayashi. Chestnut began eating competitively in 2005 while a student at San Jose State University; his stomach capacity and his fame rose in tandem until his 2007 breakthrough. According to his profile from the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE), Chestnut's other accomplishments include wolfing 47 grilled cheese sandwiches in 10 minutes in 2006, and 8.6 pounds of deep-fried asparagus spears in 10 minutes in 2007. Chestnut repeated as the Coney Island hot dog champ in 2008 (tying Kobayashi with 59 dogs in 10 minutes, then eating five more in a tiebreaker) and in 2009 (eating 68 dogs in 10 minutes).

Extra credit: The Nathan's Famous hot dog competition was lowered from 12 minutes to 10 in 2008, leading to lower totals for dogs eaten.

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