Why Joey Chestnut is on crutches at the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest
Joey Chestnut is an unstoppable force in the world of competitive hot dog eating. He’s won the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest in 14 of the last 15 years, including six straight.
He’s likely to make that seven straight years on Monday, but there will be one small obstacle he’ll have to deal with first. Chestnut has a ruptured tendon in his right leg.
Playing through the injury, Chestnut is taking the Nathan’s Famous stage on crutches. It’s unclear how much the injury will hinder his ability to gobble down a bunch of franks, but he’s apparently up to the challenge.
Chestnut sets a record almost every time he does this contest, so I’m not about to bet on some crutches stopping him from doing it again.