World hot dog chomping champ retains his crown after eat-off!
Melbourne, July 5 : American Joey Chestnut retained his crown at the annual hot dog eating contest in the Big Apple by gulping down a whopping 64 hot dogs in just 10 minutes.
In doing so, he beat archrival and six-time champion Japanese Takeru Kobayashi.
But the victory was not an easy one.
Chestnut first tied with Kobayashi in a 10-minute round when they both ate 59 hot dogs.
They then had to gobble another five frankfurters in a tie-break.
As it turned out, Chestnut showed that he could really chow-down faster, finishing his meal just before Kobayashi.
"He wanted it, but I needed it,'' the Daily Telegraph quoted a delighted Chestnut, as saying on the win, which includes 10,000 dollars in prize money and the coveted mustard-yellow belt.
The annual event has been held since 1916, and sees thousands gather at Coney Island on US Independence Day to watch it.
ANI