Joey Chestnut drops out of Indiana doughnut hole-eating competition Friday due to COVID
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
INDIANAPOLIS -- Joey Chestnut, the No. 1 competitive eater in the world was set to stuff down doughnut holes for eight straight minutes Friday, going for a world record in Indiana.
Instead, he had to withdraw from the New Castle competition Thursday after testing positive for COVID-19.
Major League Eating, which dubs itself "the world governing body of all stomach-centric sports," said Thursday the quest for doughnut hole victor would go on.
Among the athletes set to compete in the 2022 Jack’s Donuts World Donut Hole Eating Championship are No. 2-ranked world eater Geoffrey Esper and top-ranked female eater Miki Sudo.
The competition will take place 7:30 p.m. Friday in downtown New Castle. Competitors will have eight minutes to consume as many doughnut holes as they can.
Chestnut was tabbed as the shoo-in to win the doughnut hole-eating race. He already holds a world record for eating 55 glazed whole doughnuts in eight minutes.
“Joey Chestnut is known as the black hole of doughnut holes," Major League Eating emcee Sam Barclay said when announcing the competition earlier this month. "And many believe he will set an unapproachable world record."
Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Benbow on Twitter: @DanaBenbow. Reach her via email: dbenbow@indystar.com.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Major League Eating: Joey Chestnut drops donut competition due to COVID
