In one of the most exciting finishes in hot dog eating competition history, defending champion Joey Chestnut today defeated six-time winner Takeru Kobayashi in overtime to keep the Mustard Belt, $20,000 and the world's fastest hot dog eater title.
Joey Chestnut, right, after he defeated Takeru Kobayashi of Japan, left, in overtime at Nathan's annual hot dog eating contest at Coney Island in New York City, July 4, 2008. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters) (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)
Both eaters downed 59 hot dogs in the regular 10-minute competition at Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hotdog-Eating Contest in Coney Island, forcing a speed-eating, five-dog overtime. There Chestnut, known to some as the "Clay Aiken of Bacon," proved to be the speedier of the two.
"It was a little bit messier than I wanted it to be," Chestnut said immediately after the competition. "But I got them in me. I got them down.
"He wanted it, but I needed it," he said.
Kobayashi, who lost last year's competition to Chestnut, said it was speed that did him in.
"There wasn't really that big of a difference," the Japanese eating machine said through a translator. "I think I lost because I wasn't quick enough in the rematch."
Though the competition featured several so-called gurgitators, most dressed in eccentric costumes, Chestnut and Kobayashi proved after only a few minutes that the real competition was their head-to-head battle.
Chestnut maintained an early one hot dog lead over Kobayashi, who then turned up the heat after the four-minute mark and took the lead. Chestnut eventually caught up to make the contest neck and neck.
When the final whistle blew, both Kobayashi and Chestnut had their mouths and their hands full of their 59th dog. Their bellies already full, both competitors took on the speed-eating overtime just minutes later, where Chestnut prevailed.
This is the first year in recent memory in which the competition was 10 minutes long, rather than the usual 12 minutes -- a change that's rooted in history.
According to Nathan's, which supplies the hot dogs for the competition, a document was found last month, dating to the early 1900s, that laid down the rules for the hot dog eating competition.
Joey Chestnut in 2006.
For the second year in a row, American competitive eater Joey Chestnut defeated his Japanese rival Takeru Kobayashi at the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York City, after a tie forced a five hot dog eat-off to be held.

After ten minutes of hot dog eating, two shorter than in previous years, Chestnut and Kobayashi were tied at 59 frankfurters. But after the rare tiebreaker, 24-year-old Chestnut emerged as the winner, claiming a $10,000 prize and a mustard-yellow belt. "It was crazy," he said. "I'm just a normal guy eating hot dogs on the Fourth. You can't overcomplicate it."

Kobayashi, whose loss last year shattered a six-year winning streak, said that a sore jaw and a tooth problem may have altered his performance. "If I put one more mouthful in, I could've won", the 30-year-old Nagano native said through a translator. "I lost because I wasn't quick enough in the rematch."

This year, the 22 competitors were under a 10 minute time limit, unlike the 12 minutes used for previous contests. The reason for this, according to Nathan's, was the discovery of a document from 1916, which revealed that the original competition was 10 minutes long.

Thousands gathered at Coney Island to watch the annual event, which has become one of the more colorful traditions of America's Independence Day.