NEW YORK - Japanese American Miki Sudo won her 12th women's division title Saturday at the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest in New York.
Hailing from Tampa, Florida, Sudo, 40, devoured 38-3/4 hot dogs and buns within the 10-minute time limit, outpacing her nearest competitor Michelle Lesco of Tucson, Arizona, who ate 22 hot dogs and buns.
Sudo, the fifth ranked professional eater in the world and number one female eater, said that she was "happy" with her performance. She beat her score of 33 hot dogs and buns last year, but she fell short of her all-time record of 51.
While on the stage in the sweltering heat with the other 11 contestants, Sudo could be seen dunking the hot dog buns into water before scarfing them down.
She said that she uses hot water to soften the buns so that she can swallow them more easily, but added, "If I could do it again, I think I would have been better off using cooler water."
"It was a little difficult to find my rhythm. But I was thinking about keeping my pace, and my strategy was simply to eat one more hot dog than the people next to me. Thanks to everyone cheering for me, I was able to pull off the win," she said.
Sudo, a dual citizen, was born in New York to a Japanese father and an American mother. She moved to Tokyo with her family at the age of 4 and lived there until she was 11, when her family moved to Hawaii.
Not only did contestants have to compete against each other and the hot dogs, but they also had to endure the scorching summer temperatures and the pressure of performing on the 250th anniversary of the United States.
The milestone motivated Sudo. "That's one reason I wanted to win even more."
According to the National Weather Service, a dangerous heat wave engulfed the eastern U.S. through the holiday weekend, with temperatures reaching up to 43 C.
Several Independence Day celebrations were canceled on Friday, including the annual Salute to Independence Parade in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 and the U.S. Constitution was drafted in 1787. A parade that had been planned in Washington was also canceled.
Asked by the master of ceremonies ahead of the event if the hot weather would impact her eating ability, Sudo said, "Oh yeah, I mean it's going to be hot but I'm bringing the heat too. I'm used to the Florida hot. Yeah exactly, I was born for this."
According to Nathan's Famous website, the first recorded hot dog contest was in 1972. It states that an unofficial July 4th contest began on the Coney Island boardwalk in 1916 as a friendly dispute among four immigrants to determine who was "the most patriotic."
Joey Chestnut, the top-ranked professional eater from Westfield, Indiana, successfully defended his title in the men's division by devouring 66 hot dogs. However, he fell short of his personal best of 76 hot dogs.
Following his victory over 14 other contestants, Chestnut said, "I knew I was going to win," adding, "I've got so much room left."
Thousands of people, including Steven Lawler, 55, from St. Louis, Missouri, made the pilgrimage to Coney Island to witness the event. Lawler waited in line for about four hours, from 6:45 a.m., to secure a spot near the stage, about four hours before the contest began.
Lawler said he has watched the contest on television for years, and that seeing it firsthand was on his family's bucket list. He was accompanied by his wife and two children
"Yep, great way to celebrate our country. It's nice, no politics around here, just people celebrating."
