The results: Geoffrey Esper takes 2nd at Nathan's annual Fourth of July speed-eating contest

Toni Caushi, Telegram & Gazette
Updated ·2 min read
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Oxford's Geoffrey Esper devoured 49 hot dogs in 10 minutes, but it wasn't enough to topple perennial champion Joey Chestnut at the annual Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, New York, Tuesday.

After a two-hour weather delay, the annual Fourth of July speed-eating contest, shown on ESPN, followed a familiar theme after Chestnut held up his 8th consecutive Mustard Belt and his 16th overall title, after destroying 62 hot dogs - buns included.

The 39-year-old Chestnut - also known as "Jaws" - entered the competition as the clear favorite.

Esper finished second Tuesday but put up a valiant appetite after inhaling an average of around five hot dogs per minute.

The second-place finish with 48 hot dogs wasn't an easy swallow for Esper as he raced against time in a back-and-forth battle with Australian competitor James Webb who was only two hot dogs behind him at the finish line.

Geoffrey Esper, third from left, couldn't overtake eating superstar Joey Chestnut, center. Esper is from Oxford, Mass.
Geoffrey Esper, third from left, couldn't overtake eating superstar Joey Chestnut, center. Esper is from Oxford, Mass.

Second place again

This was the third time in a row Esper came in second to Chestnut, after the 2021 and the 2022 Nathan's competitions. The Oxford man sports a personal best of 51 hot dogs in 10 minutes.

A truly multi-disciplinary eater, Esper holds the 2017 and 2019 Hooters wing-eating championship, the Fortune Bay Indian Taco and the Jack's Donuts Donut Holes championships.

In June, Esper downed 21 pounds of strawberry shortcake in eight minutes to take his third title in the Mattituck Strawberry Shortcake-Eating Contest.

The Leicester-born Esper, 48, teaches electronics at Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School in Charlton and holds bachelor's and master's degrees in physics from Clark University. Esper got into competitive eating after suffering injuries as a powerlifter.

It was a day of undisputed champions for competitive eating as shortly before 11 a.m., Miki Sudo topped the women's dog eating contest after demolishing 39 and a half hot dogs in 10 minutes to take her ninth title.

The 37-year-old New York City native first competed at Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in 2014 and has never lost since.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Esper takes 2nd at Nathan's annual July 4th speed-eating contest