PORT RICHEY, FL — Don’t let her looks fool you. At 5 feet 6 inches tall and 130 pounds, Miki Sudo of Port Richey hardly fits the image of an eating contest champ.
However, anyone betting against her in Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest Tuesday in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York, walked away with a lighter wallet.
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The 37-year-old mother of three won the women’s division of the world-famous hot dog-eating contest for the ninth time, swallowing 40 hot dogs on buns.
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“She’s really excited,” er fiance, Nick Wehry, told Patch as the champion eating-contest couple and their youngest child, Max, prepared to board a plane at La Guardia International Airport in New York City to return to Tampa Wednesday morning. “She did a phenomenal job.”
Wehry said he was a bit disappointed in his own performance, although he took fourth place in the men’s division of the hot dog-eating contest, gobbling down 45 hot dogs.
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“I was aiming to hit 50 hot dogs,” he said. “That’s how many I ate in practice.”
Even so, he wouldn’t have surpassed the weiners consumed by his friend and rival, Joey Chestnut, who won the men’s division and overall contest, eating 62 hot dogs in 10 minutes and winning the Mustard Belt once again, although Chestnut didn’t break his own record of 76 hot dogs.
Wehry placed fourth overall and Sudo placed sixth overall.
According to Patch editor Emily Rahhal, who covered the annual July 4 tradition attended by thousands of people, a downpour and the threat of lightning forced New York Police Department officials to delay the competition.
The women’s competition was scheduled to stream on the ESPN app at 10:45 a.m. with a camera feed dedicated to Sudo at 11 a.m. on ESPN3. The men’s competition was originally scheduled for noon on ESPN2 and stream on the ESPN app.
But by 12:15 p.m., both contestants and spectators were on pins and needles, waiting to hear if the contest would resume as the rain-drenched crowd chanted “Joey, Joey” and hundreds of hot dogs sat waiting under a plastic tarp.
“It was frustrating but I understood why they had to take precautions with a crowd that large,” said Wehry.
At about 2 p.m., after waiting two hours, officials allowed the contest to proceed.
Among those relieved to hear that the competition was back on was Janis Clark, who traveled from Kalamazoo, Michigan, to referee the contest for the first time.
She and about 30 other volunteer referees were charged with keeping track of the number of hot dogs contestants consumed.
“To be a part of something so American on America’s birthday is just incredible,” Clark said.
Ironically, whether the competition would be canceled due to rain wasn’t one of the bets posed by the online sportsbook, BetUS.com, which created a list of prop bets and odds for the 2023 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest Betting Market, including whether one of the women contestants would wear high heels or have visible lipstick showing after the competition.
“Each year, we see more and more betting action on Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest,” said Tim Williams, director of public affairs for BetUS.com. “This really is the Super Bowl of competitive eating, and has become a major wagering event in recent years. This year we received a record number of bets and dollars wagered.”
BetUS.com correctly predicted Chestnut and Sudo the winners of the contest with odds of -5000 (1/50).
Side bets included the outcome of the contest between the engaged Port Richey couple with odds on Wehry winning at -165 (20/33) and Sudo winning at +120 (6/5).
Bet makers also gambled on whether Sudo would break her own world record of 48 1/2 hot dogs, with +250 (5/2) betting “yes” and -400 (1/4) betting “no.”
BetUS.com even lay odds on whether another animal rights protester would storm the stage this year. Last year, 22-year-old Scott Gilberson of Berkeley, California, rushed the stage at Coney Island and briefly put Chestnut in a chokehold. The odds of that happening this year were +155 (31/20) saying “yes” and -220 (5/11) betting “no.”
Those guessing “no” won the bet. There were no protesters this year, although Chestnut admitted to being a bit nervous after last year’s attack.
Speaking on the phone from La Guardia, Wehry said he and Sudo were feeling “a little bloated,” tired and eager to get home to their other two children: William, 5, and Sylvie, 8.
“William likes to show me this breathing technique to use before competing,” said Wehry. “He said I lost because I forgot to call him so he could do his breathing technique with me.”
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This is Sudo’s ninth time winning the hot dog-eating contest since qualifying in 2014. It would have been her 10th consecutive contest, except she skipped 2021 due to her pregnancy with baby Max.
A former professional body builder, Wehry entered the world of competitive eating in 2017 when he qualified for Nathan’s contest the first time, and the couple met and fell in love during the 2018 competition.
The couple’s home in Port Richey is filled with title belts and trophies for eating contest victories around the country including Buffalo wings, cheeseburgers, tamales, ice cream, ribs, kimchi, deep-fried asparagus, gyros, pepperoni rolls, pies, pierogies, burritos, Twinkies, hard-boiled eggs, pasta, corn dogs, sweet corn, gumbo, oysters, tacos and bratwurst.
Wehry said they not only enjoy the challenge but look forward to the camaraderie of fellow competitive eaters.
“It’s just a lot of fun,” said Wehry.
The prize money is an added incentive, he said.
The first-place winners of the Nathan’s hot dog-eating contest received $10,000. The second-place winner earned $5,000; the third-place winner $2,500; the fourth-place winner $1,500; and the fifth-place winner $1,000.
Additionally, the top male competitor gets a mustard yellow bedazzled belt and the top female competitor gets a pink mustard bedazzled belt.
Nevertheless, Wehry said he and Sudo are anxious to get back to life as normal and their usual diet of boneless chicken and egg whites for a couple of weeks before they start practicing for the Great Midwest Rib Fest World Rib-Eating Championship in Prior Lake, Minnesota, on July 29.
Fans can follow the couple’s eating adventures on their website and blog, The Hungry Couple.
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