On a daily basis, Julie Goldberg eats in a way that could be described as “pretty normal.” One would have no idea that Goldberg, 38, is a competitive eater who trained to eat the most hot dogs she has ever eaten in her life.
According to the criteria of
They walk among us, these titans of caloric consumption: construction workers and school superintendents, farmers and accountants. The difference is that every July 4th, the best flock to New York’s Coney Island for the Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest.
This year, the field of competitors was unexpectedly open. In June, Joey Chestnut, the 16-time contest champion, was banned from the competition after signing an endorsement deal with Impossible Foods.
Most elite competitors do not sign sponsorship contracts. Nevertheless, they form the backbone of what is not just a sport but an American tradition.
The range of abilities is enormous: Chestnut holds the record with 76 hot dogs (and buns) in 10 minutes, 7 hot dogs less than what scientists have determined is theoretically the maximum capacity for a human being.
Patrick Bertoletti took this year’s men’s title by eating 58 hot dogs. Miki Sudo, the 10-time women’s winner, broke her own division record with 51.
Goldberg started competing like many people do: You know someone who does it and they suggest you try it too.
George Chiger, 45, met Larell Marie Mele, 60, in line at a cable company’s offices in Pocono Summit, Pennsylvania.
“There was this short woman in front of me in yoga pants and purple hair, and she’s so excited to go back to Coney Island, and she ate 15 hot dogs and buns,” he recalled.
The two became training partners. If his goal was 15 hot dogs, he would tell him he would eat 16, as motivation.
“We did that for years,” he said, until, in 2015, Mele convinced him to compete in a Nathan’s heat. “The adrenaline pump was incredible,” he recalled. “It has changed my life.”
When they met, Chiger, who is 1.98 meters tall, weighed about 150 kilos. Today he weighs about 250 pounds, a change he attributes to eating contests.
“It simultaneously showed me that, okay, I can consume large amounts of food and be really conscious of my health the other six days of the week,” she explained.
On July 4, she ate 28 hot dogs, while Mele placed fourth in the women’s division with 14.5.
Like all sports, competitive eating is about training body and mind.
To increase the flexibility of their stomach, some athletes focus on what amounts to an internal stretching program, using large amounts of watermelon, vegetables or water.
Goldberg said his biggest struggle was fighting the natural urge to chew.
Then there is the mind. The body does not want to consume 6 or 20 or 72 hot dogs. Gideon Oji, 32, a former college basketball player from Nigeria, devoured 33 hot dogs on July 4.
“At a certain point, you’re fighting your body to keep that food down.”he pointed out.
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