Might a Bay Stater take the championship belt on the iconic Nathan’s Scorching Canine Consuming Contest?
With world file holder Joey Chestnut out this 12 months, the door has been opened for a brand new champ — which could possibly be Massachusetts resident Geoffrey Esper.
The 49-year-old Oxford man, who completed in second place finally 12 months’s contest, is without doubt one of the favorites for the legendary competitors on the Fourth of July.
“I got a chance at the belt now,” Esper advised the Herald forward of Thursday’s contest.
“It’s still not going to be easy,” he added. “There are three other guys who are all pretty close, so it should be very close.”
The annual Nathan’s Well-known Fourth of July Worldwide Scorching Canine Consuming Championship, an American vacation custom, will likely be held on the iconic Nathan’s Well-known flagship restaurant on the nook of Surf and Stillwell avenues in Coney Island.
Final 12 months, Chestnut claimed his sixteenth victory with 62 scorching canine and buns within the 10-minute, all-you-can-eat contest. Chestnut’s world file is 76 scorching canine and buns.
However Chestnut received’t be competing this 12 months after he signed a take care of a rival model. Which means Esper, whose private file is 51 scorching canine and buns, may get the highest prize.
“It just depends on who has a really good day, and we’ll see what happens,” mentioned Esper, who teaches electronics at Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical Excessive Faculty in Charlton.
“I’m just going to go out there and try to do my best,” he added.
The ladies’s competitors begins at 11 a.m. on Thursday, and the lads’s competitors will begin at 12:30 p.m. Nathan’s Well-known can even make its annual donation of 100,000 Nathan’s Well-known scorching canine to the Meals Financial institution for New York Metropolis previous to the occasion.
“Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest is the ultimate American holiday tradition,” mentioned Phil McCann, VP of Advertising and marketing at Nathan’s Well-known. “Each year thousands of fans join us at Nathan’s Flagship on the corner of Surf and Stillwell to witness history in the making.”
Hundreds make the journey to Surf and Stillwell avenues in Coney Island annually to look at the occasion in particular person. In line with Main League Consuming archives, the Nathan’s Well-known Fourth of July Worldwide Scorching Canine Consuming Championship has occurred every July 4 in Coney Island since 1916.
“The Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest has transformed America’s Independence Day into an international affair,” mentioned Main League Consuming Chair George Shea. “The greatest eaters from around the globe will once again convene in Coney Island to fight for the honor of their respective nations.”
