Wolfing down an incredible 68 hot dogs, Joey Chestnut defeated Japan's Takeru Kobayashi at the 2009 edition of the Fourth of July Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest.
It was the third consecutive victory for Chestnut, and Kobayashi, the six-time champion, once again finished in second place. Last year, Chestnut and Kobayashi tied at 59 dogs in the 10-minute regulation time, and then Chestnut won in overtime. This year Kobayashi improved, eating 64 dogs, but he didn't improve as much as Chestnut did.
Chestnut, ever the perfectionist, said afterward that he wished he had done even better. Chestnut believed he could have eaten as many as 70 hot dogs if everything had gone right, but that he felt the buns were going down slowly this Fourth of July. But even if Chestnut wasn't satisfied, everyone watching must have been. This was a great athletic performance.
