Tampa Bay area resident Miki Sudo breaks women's hot dog eating contest record
TAMPA, Fla. - It's a yearly tradition. Every 4th of July, competitive eaters flock to Coney Island push the limits and eat as many Nathan's hot dogs and buns as they can.
And this year, Miki Sudo, of Port Richey, made history, eating a record 51 hot dogs and buns en route to her 10th victory in the yearly women's competition.
Nick Wehry and Miki Sudo, or ‘The Hungry Couple' as they're called, hail from the Tampa Bay area and are the highest-ranked Major League Eating couple in history.
READ: What Fourth of July events are happening in the Tampa Bay Area?
Nick ranks as the No. 4 professional eater in the Major League Eating (MLE) rankings, and Miki is No. 3.
READ: Power couple of competitive eating lives and trains in Tampa Bay
Nick ate 45 in 2023 and could stand to gain from the notable absence of the sport's figurehead, Joey Chestnut, after he was controversially banned from this year's event.
The couple said they have Tampa's heat to thank for getting them trained for the big contest.
"I started practicing super early on, probably around like January and stuff, and Miki's been practicing for a few months now, so I think we're both really excited," Wehry said. "I hit 48 in the qualifier earlier in June, and I know there's a lot more in the tank; I've hit higher numbers than that in the backyard in Tampa Bay."
"We've been using the Tampa heat and humidity to really get us acclimated and maybe even overprepared for the Fourth of July," Miki said.
"It's going to be a dog fight for ten minutes, so I'm excited to see how it plays," Wehry said of Thursday's contest.
The couple was asked if - with Joey Chestnut not competing in this year's contest - there would be an asterisk on this year's championship. They said that's no way to view a competition.
"Everyone can take whatever attitude they want to take on something, [but] with that being said, when Tom Brady retired, there's not an asterisk, or even the year he tore his ACL, there's not an asterisk on the Super Bowl trophy," Wehry said.
"The best person on that given day is the best person on that given day. There's people who chose to sign the contract and people who didn't, and that person is going to be the best Major League Eater and the best eater of Nathan's Famous hot dogs that given day. No asterisk.
"If people don't like it, you come eat more hot dogs than me, or Jeff, or Pat, or James," he said.
Thursday's competition will be the first time in nearly 20 years that 16-time champion, Chestnut, won't be competing to defend his plethora of titles. A men's winner not named Chestnut will be crowned for the first time since 2015.
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The event kicks off with the women's competition at 10:45 a.m. on ESPN, where Sudo will hope to take home her third straight championship.
