Patrick Bertoletti crowned new winner of Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest after Joey Chestnut was barred
So much for that old Chestnut.
The Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest crowned a new winner Thursday – with the annual July 4th competition newly invigorated by the absence of longtime champ Joey Chestnut amid a fight over vegan dogs.
Chicago’s Patrick Bertoletti, 39, took the Mustard Belt after wolfing down 58 franks and buns in a neck-and-neck, 10-minute race at Coney Island that saw the leader repeatedly bounce back and forth.
It’s the first time a man not named Chestnut has won the contest since 2015, and only the second time in the last 17 years.
“I wasn’t going to stop eating until the job was done,” Bertoletti said after securing his first-ever win.
“I knew when I was ahead in the beginning that these guys were going to catch up to me but I knew that I couldn’t slow down either.”
He managed to out-eat Geoffrey Esper, 49, of Massachusetts, who finished second with 53 dogs. Australian James Webb, 35, came in third after chowing down on 52 wieners.
Earlier, reigning champ Miki Sudo gave the men a run for their money after clinching the women’s title with a world record-breaking 51 dogs in 10 minutes.
“Breaking 50 is a milestone for all women and I’m really excited to be a part of it,” she told The Post exclusively after winning her 10th pink belt.
While Bertoletti managed to best his prior record of 55 hot dogs, it was a far cry from the record-breaking 76 franks Chestnut managed back in 2021.
Better known as “Jaws,” Chestnut was banned from this year’s beef-eating competition in dramatic fashion after he cut a deal with rival brand Impossible Foods, which is famous for its meatless Impossible Burger.
Major League Eating, which Nathan’s sanctions to run the event, insisted Chestnut had been aware of the hot dog exclusivity provisions for the nearly two decades he’s been scarfing down record-breaking franks.
“Joey was not banned. Joey chose not to compete in the contest the moment he chose to make an endorsement deal with one of Nathan’s competitors,” a rep said after The Post broke the news of the controversy.
After holding out hope he’d be allowed to compete, a “devastated” Chestnut said he set to take his hot dog-downing talents to the Fort Bliss army base in El Paso, Texas, to compete against soldiers this Independence Day instead.
Last year, Chestnut won the Coney Island competition by eating 62 dogs in 10 minutes.
