Concord Mills holding hot dog eating contest
Competitive eaters, a new and increasingly celebrated breed of American athlete, will gather at the Concord Mills on June 9 for a chance to compete in the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest.
The noon contest is an official qualifying round of the Nathan’s Famous worldwide hot dog-eating circuit. The winner will receive the right to represent the United States in the 91st Annual Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4th in Coney Island, N.Y.
Anyone 18 or older can compete and applications are online at www.nathansfamous.com.
Seven ranked gurgitators will be in Concord trying to out-eat the most exciting (and beautiful) newcomer on the competitive eating circuit, Juliet Lee. Despite her svelte frame, the 105-pound Lee has been consistently out-eating men twice her size.
Among the other sites with qualifying rounds are Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Atlanta and Tokyo.
Also competing will be Seattle’s Erik “The Red” Denmark, ranked 14th and an early front-runner for MLE Rookie of the Year. And Hall “Hoover” Hunt, a steadfastly Christian eater from Gainesville, Fla., will be looking to pull off an upset and improve his rank of 17th. The contest will take place in the food court of Concord Mills.
The winner will earn a seat at the table in Coney Island, N.Y., next to Takeru Kobayashi, the six-time winner of the Mustard Yellow International Belt.
The Coney Island event has been held each year since 1916, according to legend.