Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest competitors revealed – without Joey Chestnut
FILE-Defending champion Joey Chestnut (C) competes in the 2023 Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island on July 4, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Bobby Bank/Getty Images)
The competitors for the 2024 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest were announced, but a notable contestant absent from the competition is Joey Chestnut.
Chestnut is the defending hot dog-eating champion after eating 62 in 2023, but he was banned from the 2024 competition because he signed a deal with Impossible Foods, a rival of Nathan’s Hot Dogs.
RELATED: Joey Chestnut won’t be competing in the 2024 Nathan’s hot dog eating contest; here’s why
This is the first time in 19 years that the 16-time champion won’t compete since he’s won the Nathan's contest every year but one since 2007. Chestnut's 76 dogs and buns in the 2021 contest remain a world record.
But fans can still see Chestnut this year when he battles former champion Takeru Kobayashi in a separate hot dog eating contest in a live special on Netflix on Labor Day.
RELATED: Joey Chestnut to face off with Takeru Kobayashi in Netflix Live event
Here’s the list of competitors for the men’s and women’s bracket in the 2024 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest
2024 men’s competitors
- Geoffrey Esper
- James Webb
- Nick Wehry
- Patrick Bertoletti
- Gideon Oji
- Darrien Thomas
- Derek Hendrickson
- Max Stanford
- George Chiger
- Takuya Yamamoto
2024 women’s competitors
- Miki Sudo (Women’s defending champion)
- Michelle Lesco
- Cherish Brown
- Larell Mele
- Katie Prettyman
- Julie Goldberg
- Tandra Childress
- Ellen Straub
- Mayoi Ebihara
Winners of the hot dog eating contest get a $20,000 cash prize. The 2024 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest takes place on Thursday, July 4 from 11 a.m. ET to 1 p.m. ET at Coney Island in New York City.
This story was reported from Washington, D.C.