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