Competitive eater Joey "Jaws" Chestnut will take his hot dog-downing talents to an army base in Texas for America's Independence Day this year after a falling out with organizers of the event that made him famous, the annual 4th of July eating contest in Brooklyn's Coney Island.
Chestnut, of Indiana, will compete against soldiers in Fort Bliss, in El Paso, in a five-minute hot dog eating contest. That's instead of the 10-minute Nathan's Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest, where he competed against the world's top competitive eaters since 2005 and hadn't lost since 2015. In 2021 he set the current record of 76 hot dogs, in 10 minutes.
Organizers of that event initially said he couldn't attend due to a sponsorship conflict, which Chestnut said involved a deal with Impossible Foods, which makes plant-based hot dogs.
Chestnut said he was " gutted " he couldn't compete in the event in Coney Island, where he said he loved the atmosphere and the sometimes-sweltering crowds.
"Those people have been sitting in the sun, waiting. They know what to expect. And they're not shocked. They're cheering and yelling and pushing me," Chestnut said Thursday in a phone interview.
But Chestnut says he's not going to sit home and do nothing. And he's hopeful the soldiers will push him to perform. Fearful of being "lazy" in competition with amateurs, the perennial world champion will try to out-eat four soldiers, pitting his frank-swallowing total against theirs combined. If they work together, they might even beat him.
"If they (each) break ten, that'd be pretty good," Chestnut said Thursday as he fasted on water, lemon juice and liquified calories as part of his pre-competition routine.
Around 15,000 people, mostly soldiers and their families, are expected to attend the annual "Pop Goes the Fort" celebration at Fort Bliss. It also is to include fireworks and performances by the El Paso Symphony Orchestra and the 1st Armored Division Band, according to Fort Bliss Morale Welfare and Recreation organization spokesperson Marlow Brestar.
Chestnut said he'll do a practice routine Friday, then ingest oils to "make sure there's a clean highway, there won't be any traffic jams" in his digestive system before heading to Fort Bliss, the sprawling desert army base that's home to the 1st Armored Division. It will be his first visit to El Paso.
"Maybe I'll get to get on a tank," he said.
Fans can watch Chestnut compete on Netflix against rival Takeru Kobayashi in September.
He's hopeful that he can get back to competing on July 4th next year, either with Netflix or at the Nathan's Famous contest. To head back to his cherished Coney Island event though, he'd need to make up with the event organizers, Major League Eating.
"I feel bullied," he said. "If I'm ever going to work with them again, they're going to have to apologize," Chestnut said.
Major League Eating says it eventually conceded the sponsorship issue, according to a statement from spokesman George Shea.
"Unfortunately, this was not enough to get us to an agreement," the statement said. "We think this is a powerful tribute to our armed forces and we wish Joey the best of luck at his event."
Millions are celebrating Canada’s 157th birthday this year -- as they do every year -- with fireworks, food and family. In Newfoundland, it is a day of mourning for one of the bloodiest battles of the First World War.
Toronto police are looking for a stolen vehicle in connection with at least eight separate shootings in the city over the weekend.
WestJet has reached a deal with its mechanics to end a strike that had disrupted the travel plans of tens of thousands of travellers over the Canada Day long weekend.
Retirement has historically lasted about two decades, but for some Canadians it is now extending to twice that amount of time as more live well into their 90s and beyond. That's making some rethink their investments, savings, expenses and when to retire.
Hurricane Beryl began pounding the southeast Caribbean on Monday as a powerful Category 4 storm after becoming the earliest storm of that strength to form in the Atlantic, fuelled by record warm waters.
Three runaway horses bolted through the streets of central London Monday after one was spooked by a bus and two others tossed their riders, the Army said.
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A B.C. man who reneged on a deal to split the cost of removing a tree with his next-door neighbour is now on the hook for the whole amount, B.C.’s civil resolution has ruled.
Reigning world champion Simone Biles will become the fourth American woman gymnast to compete in three Olympic Games after placing first in the all-around competition at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials Sunday in Minneapolis.
Toronto police are looking for a stolen vehicle in connection with at least eight separate shootings in the city over the weekend.
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Toronto police say they're investigating a pair of suspected hate-motivated offences after two city synagogues were damaged early Sunday morning.
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Australia appointed Sam Mostyn on Monday as only its second woman governor general, a largely ceremonial role representing the British monarch who is the nation’s head of state.
Three runaway horses bolted through the streets of central London Monday after one was spooked by a bus and two others tossed their riders, the Army said.
Israel released the director of Gaza's main hospital on Monday after holding him for seven months without charge or trial over allegations the facility had been used as a Hamas command center. He said he and other detainees were held under harsh conditions and tortured.
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Longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon is scheduled to report to a federal prison in Connecticut on Monday to serve a four-month sentence on contempt charges for defying a subpoena in the congressional investigation into the U.S. Capitol attack.
Hurricane Beryl began pounding the southeast Caribbean on Monday as a powerful Category 4 storm after becoming the earliest storm of that strength to form in the Atlantic, fuelled by record warm waters.
Some police services in Canada are using facial recognition technology to help solve crimes, while other police forces say human rights and privacy concerns are holding them back from employing the powerful digital tools.
A New Democrat member of Parliament has paid back a portion of the thousands of dollars she spent on a Christmastime trip for herself and her family that was paid for with public money.
Calls have intensified for Justin Trudeau to resign as head of the party he almost single-handedly pulled back from the brink after a decimating electoral defeat in 2011.
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WestJet has reached a deal with its mechanics to end a strike that had disrupted the travel plans of tens of thousands of travellers over the Canada Day long weekend.
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The 2024 edition of Wimbledon started on Monday, with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and past Grand Slam title winners Coco Gauff and Emma Raducanu all set to play matches at Centre Court.
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WestJet has reached a deal with its mechanics to end a strike that had disrupted the travel plans of tens of thousands of travellers over the Canada Day long weekend.
Toronto police are looking for a stolen vehicle in connection with at least eight separate shootings in the city over the weekend.
WestJet has reached a deal with its mechanics to end a strike that had disrupted the travel plans of tens of thousands of travellers over the Canada Day long weekend.
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Dozens of WestJet flights to and from Vancouver International Airport were cancelled Sunday, as a strike by airline mechanics continues.
With dozens of WestJet flights unceremoniously cancelled to and from Vancouver International Airport Sunday, many travelers have been forced to sleep at the airport, or pay out of pocket for a flight from another airline.
A B.C. man who reneged on a deal to split the cost of removing a tree with his next-door neighbour is now on the hook for the whole amount, B.C.’s civil resolution has ruled.
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Municipal officials and provincial police are baffled by the theft of some unique deer in the northern Ontario community of Elliot Lake.
The remains of a soldier from Newfoundland killed in the battlefields of France during the First World War will be laid to rest in St. John's Monday, bringing an emotional end to a years-long effort in a place still shaken and forever changed by the bloodshed.
It was a battle ripped from the pages of a storybook: Ten soldiers held off hundreds of German troops to save a small French village in the First World War.
Millions are celebrating Canada’s 157th birthday this year -- as they do every year -- with fireworks, food and family. In Newfoundland, it is a day of mourning for one of the bloodiest battles of the First World War.
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