Geoffrey Esper, who lives in Massachusetts, came in second during the 2024 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on Thursday.
Esper, of Oxford, is a full-time high school teacher and has been Major League Eating’s No. 2-ranked eater in the world.
His strategy involved separating two hot dogs, eating those, and then dunking the buns in fruit punch to wash them down easier, he previously told WCVB.
He planned to match his record of eating 51 hot dogs this year, he told WCVB. But he felt like it’ll be a close race.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if it came down to half a hot dog or even a quarter of a hot dog between some places,” he told the news outlet.
On Thursday, Esper ate 53 hot dogs. The first place winner, Patrick Bertoletti, ate 58 hot dogs.
Patrick Bertoletti, center, reacts after winning the men’s division in Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest, Thursday, July 4, 2024, at Coney Island in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Bertoletti ate 58 hot dogs. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)AP
In 2023, Esper placed second in Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest downing 49 hot dogs, two more than third-place finisher James Webb of Australia.
However, Joey Chestnut previously come out ahead.
But, for the first time in 16 years, Chestnut did not compete in the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest Thursday.
Major League Eating, which organizes the annual food-eating contest, previously announced that Chestnut will not participate in the 2024 Hot Dog Eating Contest due to his choice to represent a “rival brand that sells plant-based hot dogs.”
“MLE and Nathan’s went to great lengths in recent months to accommodate Joey and his management team,” Major League Eating said in a statement. ” … For nearly two decades we have worked under the same basic hot dog exclusivity provisions. However, it seems that Joey and his managers have prioritized a new partnership with a different hot dog brand over our long-time relationship.”
Esper knew this could be his year.
“I definitely have a shot to win,” Esper previously told WCVB.
Although Esper had come in second to Chestnut in the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in previous years, he’s still a top dog in other competitions.
He holds multiple world records, including eating 36 4.5-ounce bratwurst sausages in 10 minutes. And according to ESPN, Esper’s career-best is 51 hot dogs.
His Major League Eating profile bills Esper as “a quiet, industrious man who says very little but eats very much.”
His personal records include eating 9.75 pounds of SPAM from the can in eight minutes, downing 281 Buffalo chicken wings in 12 minutes, and crushing 17.75 bagels (with cream cheese) in eight minutes.
