CONEY ISLAND, Brooklyn — Tampa Bay-area professional eaters Nick Wehry and Miki Sudo are heading to Coney Island, NY to compete in the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest on the Fourth of July — and both have their eyes on the prize.
"It’s America’s 250th birthday. Eating hot dogs [on Coney Island] on the 4th of July. [My mohawk] will likely be red, white, and blue," Nick laughed. "I feel pretty good about it."
Wehry is hunting his first Mustard Belt, awarded to the competitor who eats the most hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. He said the event is a business trip, no matter how festive the atmosphere gets.
"I might look to my right and my left and say 'Hey, good luck, man. Kick a--. Let's put up some big numbers.' I'm usually pretty cordial at that point," Nick joked. "Because when it says '5, 4, 3, 2, 1, go!' I don't know you. It doesn't matter who you are. It's just go time."
Nick's wife, Miki, has won the last 11 contests in which she's competed (She sat out the 2021 event because she was pregnant at the time). With the competition falling on America's 250th birthday, she said the stakes feel even higher.
"It's a big year. Not just for me, but for the event, for the country. And it's just not a year that I want to lose," Sudo said.
Sudo holds the women's world record of 51 hot dogs and buns in ten minutes. But chasing a 12th belt comes with plenty of pressure — even for an experienced veteran.
"Really, the target's been on my back for a number of years. People have seen my numbers go up. And also they've seen me on some of my off years," she added. "It's this weird feeling that there's nowhere but down. Kinda have to hang on to my spot and keep out-running, out-eating the competition."
Beyond the spectacle, the competition — along with nearly every other event the pair participates in — raises money and donates thousands of pounds of food to help fight food insecurity. Nathan's Famous donates 100,000 hot dogs to food banks every year, and the "World's Hungriest Couple" volunteers at local charities whenever they can.
"I believe that objectively we are a 'net good,' what we're doing," Nick said. "It seems crazy in the way that we're doing it. But that's the talent that I have."
The Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest airs tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. on ABC.
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