Photo gallery: Hot dog eating contest
Joey Chestnut won his fifth title and Sonya Thomas won the first women's competition at Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating World Championship, July 4, 2011, at Coney Island, in the Brooklyn borough of New York.
Sonya Thomas
Competitors at the first-ever Nathan's Famous Women's Hot Dog Eating World Championship gorge themselves against the clock and vie to break the female world record of 41 hot dogs set by Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, right, Monday, July 4, 2011, at Coney Island, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Thomas won the women's competition with 40 downed hot dogs. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Joey Chestnut
With his trophy in one hand and a bottle of Pepto-Bismol in the other, four-time reigning champion Joey Chestnut, center, accepts his trophy after he wins his fifth Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating World Championship with a total of 62 hot dogs and buns, Monday, July 4, 2011, at Coney Island, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. He was unable to break his world record of 68 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Sonya Thomas
Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, center right, wins the first Nathan's Famous Women's Hot Dog Eating World Championship after consuming 40 hot dogs and buns, Monday, July 4, 2011, Monday, July 4, 2011, at Coney Island, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Thomas fell just one short of her female world record of 41 hot dogs and buns. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Hot Dog Contest
Spectators display their patriotism with face paint at the Nathan's Famous Hotdog Eating Contest, Monday, July 4, 2011, at Coney Island, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Hot Dog Contest
Connor Laverty, left, of Union N.J., paints Mike Buczynksi, right, of Roselle, N.J., red, white, and blue at Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, Monday, July 4, 2011, on Coney Island in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Four-time reigning champion Joey Chestnut and challengers from around the world will vie to break his record of 68 hotdogs and buns in under 10 minutes. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Hot Dog Contest
Stephanie Torres, of Las Cruces, N.M., competes at the first-ever Nathan's Famous Women's Hot Dog Eating World Championship Monday, July 4, 2011, at Coney Island, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Takeru Kobayashi
With the Empire State Building in the background and a live ESPN broadcast of the Nathan's Coney Island Hot Dog competition showing beside him on an outdoor plasma screen, Takeru Kobayashi, right, eats Nathan's hot dogs by himself, during an unofficial contest Monday July 4, 2011 in New York. Kobayashi, who was ineligible to compete in the Coney Island competition because he won't sign an exclusive contract with Major League Eating, ate 69 Nathan's hot dogs in 10 minutes. The winner of the Coney Island contest, Joey Chestnut, foreground center on the plasma screen, ate 62 hot dogs in 10 minutes. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)
Hot Dog Contest
Music artist Nick Cannon addresses the crowds at the Nathan's Famous Hotdog Eating Contest, Monday, July 4, 2011, at Coney Island, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Hot Dog Contests
Takeru Kobayashi reacts after eating 69 Nathan's hot dogs in ten minutes, which would have been a world record, during an unofficial contest Monday July 4, 2011 in New York. Kobayashi, who did his eating alone as a live ESPN broadcast of the Nathan's Coney Island Hot Dog competition was showing beside him on an outdoor plasma screen, was ineligible to compete in the Coney Island contest because he won't sign an exclusive contract with Major League Eating. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)
Hot Dog Contests
With the Empire State Building in the background, Takeru Kobayashi reacts after eating 69 Nathan's hot dogs in ten minutes during an unofficial contest Monday July 4, 2011 in New York. Kobayashi, who did his eating alone as a live ESPN broadcast of the Nathan's Coney Island Hot Dog competition was showing beside him on an outdoor plasma screen, was ineligible to compete in the Coney Island contest because he won't sign an exclusive contract with Major League Eating. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)
Hot Dog Contests
Takeru Kobayashi smiles as he is surrounded by the media and spectators after eating 69 Nathan's hot dogs in ten minutes during an unofficial contest Monday July 4, 2011 in New York. Kobayashi, who did his eating alone as a live ESPN broadcast of the Nathan's Coney Island Hot Dog competition was showing beside him on an outdoor plasma screen, was ineligible to compete in the Coney Island contest because he won't sign an exclusive contract with Major League Eating. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)
Sonya Thomas
Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, left, accepts her trophy after she wins the first Nathan's Famous Women's Hot Dog Eating Contest by consuming 40 hot dogs and buns, Monday, July 4, 2011, Monday, July 4, 2011, at Coney Island, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. She fell just short of her female world record of 41 hot dogs and buns. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Hot Dog Contest
An exhausted five-time hotdog eating champion Joey Chestnut, right, accepts his trophy after he wins his fifth Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating World Championship with a total of 62 hot dogs and buns, Monday, July 4, 2011, at Coney Island, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Hot Dog Contest
Competitors at the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest gorge themselves against the clock for "The Mustard Yellow International Belt," Monday, July 4, 2011, at Coney Island, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Joey Chestnut scarfed down 62 wieners to win his fifth consecutive July Fourth hot dog eating contest. (AP Photo/John Munchillo)
Hot Dog Contests
Takeru Kobayashi, foreground, reacts after eating 69 Nathan's hot dogs in ten minutes during an unofficial contest Monday July 4, 2011 in New York. Kobayashi, who did his eating alone as a live ESPN broadcast of the Nathan's Coney Island Hot Dog competition was showing beside him on an outdoor plasma screen, was ineligible to compete in the Coney Island contest because he won't sign an exclusive contract with Major League Eating. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)
Hot Dog Contests
With the Empire State Building in the background, Takeru Kobayashi, center, eats Nathan's hot dogs during an unofficial contest Monday July 4, 2011 in New York. Kobayashi, who did his eating of 69 hot dogs in 10 minutes alone as a live ESPN broadcast of the Nathan's Coney Island Hot Dog competition was showing beside him on an outdoor plasma screen, was ineligible to compete in the Coney Island contest because he won't sign an exclusive contract with Major League Eating. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)
NEW YORK - Joey Chestnut has scarfed down 62 wieners to win his fifth consecutive July Fourth hot dog eating contest at New York's Coney Island. It wasn't his best, but it was enough to beat second-place winner Pat Bertoletti by nine dogs during the annual Nathan's International Hot Dog Eating Contest.
Americans across the country celebrated Independence Day with fireworks, parades and baseball games.
A Tucson waitress gobbled 20 hot dogs Monday, but it wasn't enough to win the annual hot dog-eating contest at Coney Island.
NEW YORK - Joey Chestnut scarfed down 62 hot dogs to win his fifth consecutive Fourth of July hot dog eating contest at Coney Island - the equ…