Times change and empires crumble, yet the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest endures. It’s an unusual mix of thrill, camp and gluttony. Maybe it’s the real “beautiful game.”The Fourth of July staple returns Saturday for another go-around. Eternal valor is on the line, along with cash prizes and a sequined belt. There will be title defenses from Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo, who are the Michael Jordan and Diana Taurasi of gorging sausages.Here’s everything you need to know ahead of this year’s Coney Island festivities. All times are ET.How to watch the 2026 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest
Venue: Nathan’s Famous — Brooklyn, N.Y.
Date: Saturday, July 4
CompetitionTime (ET)TVStreamWomen's10:45 a.m.ESPN+Fubo (Watch Now)Men's12:30 p.m.ABC, ESPN2Fubo (Watch Now)Replay3 p.m.ESPN2Fubo (Watch Now)Replay9 p.m.ESPNFubo (Watch Now)ABC is free over the air. All ESPN programs are also available with an ESPN Unlimited subscription.The TV broadcast detailsWe begin with Sudo and the women’s competition, which opens its broadcast window at 10:45 a.m. and starts around 11. The network has relegated the live women’s event to ESPN+ and ESPN Unlimited, its direct-to-consumer subscription service that’s available through some TV providers. Both of those options also have an alternate “iso camera” stream just for Sudo.Men’s coverage opens at noon on ESPN2 with interviews, previews and a women’s recap. The contest itself is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on ESPN2 and ABC, marking its first over-the-air broadcast. Like Sudo, Chestnut gets his own iso stream via ESPN Unlimited.Longtime sports reporter Jeremy Schaap anchors the broadcast with Rich Shea, current president of Major League Eating. ESPN soccer analyst Marion Crowder joins them for her Hot Dog Eating Contest debut. Godspeed to all.For those who missed it, or those sickos itching to run it back a few hours later, there’s an ESPN2 re-airing at 3 p.m. and an ESPN one at 9. There are also three Sunday replays scheduled for noon, 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.The most unbreakable records in sportsTifo SportsThe hot dog contest rulesAnarchy? We don’t even know what that means! Of course there are rules. Major League Eating organizes the event, and its International Federation of Competitive Eating is the governing body that oversees such depravity.Per MLE, the contest clocks in at exactly 10 minutes. Utensils are prohibited and condiments are seldom used, but water and other non-alcoholic drinks are available to speed up digestion. Five links and five buns go on each plate, and competitors need to clear a plate before moving to the next one.Entrants don’t have to eat the hot dogs and the buns simultaneously. Partially eaten hot dogs count toward the total score. According to Chestnut, the most efficient approach is “meat, then a wet bun.” Analytics have come for even our most sacred sport.A “reversal of fortune,” known to us laypeople as barfing, can result in disqualification. Lionel Messi wouldn’t stand a chance here.The competitors to knowTwo stars shine alone.Sudo has conquered 11 of the last 12 women’s competitions. The one year she didn’t win was 2021 … because she was pregnant and skipped the contest. Sudo ate 33 HDBs (hot dog + bun) to take the 2025 championship, and set the Nathan’s women’s record at 51 HDBs in 2024.Since its 2011 beginnings, the women’s competition has crowned just two other champs besides Sudo. Michelle Lesco broke through in Sudo’s gap year, while Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas won the first three through 2013.On the men’s side, Chestnut stands as the undisputed standard. His 2025 title was the 17th Mustard Belt of his career out of 20 appearances, secured through an outrageous 70.5 HDBs. He holds 58 competitive eating records as recognized by MLE, and set the all-time Nathan’s mark with 76 (seventy-six!?) in 2021. “Men lie, women lie, numbers don’t.”Dating back to 2007, Chestnut has been the victor of all but two contests. Matt Stonie dethroned him in 2015. And Patrick Bertoletti won in 2024, when Chestnut served a suspension for signing an endorsement deal with Impossible Foods, which makes plant-based hot dogs. He now defends his belt while on probation for a misdemeanor battery charge.There are four international entrants this year. James Webb hails from Australia, Max Stanford is from the United Kingdom, Radim “Steel Rod” Dvořáček is the pride of the Czech Republic and Yunho Choi reps South Korea. Meanwhile, both Bertoletti and Lesco try to retake their titles with the king and queen in tow.Why are we doing this?We … we don’t know. But it draws more than 40,000 spectators a year, according to Nathan’s itself. This is someone’s Super Bowl, if the Super Bowl was about binging 15 pounds of cased beef tubes.From the New York Times archiveMay 28, 1972:By noon yesterday, the crush of cars carrying New Yorkers to mountains and shores for the Memorial Day weekend was over, and the pace of life in the city had begun to wind down to slow springtime surrealism … nearby, at Nathan’s Famous, Jason Schechter, a Brooklyn College student, won the annual hot dog‐eating contest by devouring 14 franks in three and a half minutes. His prize was a book of certificates for 40 more hot dogs.July 7, 1986:In a weekend of indulgence, 27-year-old Mark Heller of Manhattan — depending on one’s perspective — might rightfully lay claim to the prize for the most indulgent act … after victory, Mr. Heller searched for bicarbonate of soda and said that the festive atmosphere of Liberty Weekend and seeing a “German girl who had never eaten a hot dog” win the contest two years ago had prompted him to participate.“It was my destiny,” he said.July 4, 2007:The Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot-Dog Eating Contest was won by Joey Chestnut, who dethroned Takeru Kobayashi, the six-time defending champion of the event, in a competitive chow-down spectacle that was not decided until the final seconds in Coney Island, Brooklyn. Mr. Chestnut ate 66 hot dogs in the 12-minute contest, establishing a world record. For the first time, he defeated his top rival, Mr. Kobayashi, who showed no apparent strains from his well-documented recent dental troubles.Streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process, and do not review stories before publication.
