CONEY ISLAND, N.Y. — One local couple represented the Tampa Bay area once again at one of our nation's most prestigious Independence Day traditions — the 2023 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest.
Port Richey couple Miki Sudo and Nick Wehry are the highest-ranked couple in history by Major League Eating, the official league that oversees professional eating contests worldwide.
With 39 and a half hot dogs, Miki Sudo again took first place in the women's division this year. Although she successfully defended her championship title, she didn't come close to the world record of 48 and a half dogs she set in 2020.
Sudo, 37, said close competition from 27-year-old Mayoi Ebihara threw her off.
“The first couple minutes, I found myself watching her, which I never want to do. I never want to be distracted by the other competitors,” Sudo said after the competition. “Watching her, I fumbled my hands. I got stuck with a big burp early on but was able to correct.”
Her fiancé Nick Wehry ate 45 hot dogs this year, placing fourth behind now 16-time winner Joey Chestnut in the men's competition, which was delayed due to stormy weather.
Chestnut ate 62 hot dogs for the win this year, 14 less than his 76-hot dog record set in 2021.
Sudo is the No. 1 ranked female eater in the world and now the 9-time Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest Women’s Champion.
Her other current world records include:
- 16.5 pints of vanilla ice cream in six minutes, set July 13, 2017
- 8.5 pounds of kimchi in six minutes, set Aug. 11, 2013
- 14 pounds of wild rice hotdish in eight minutes, set June 22, 2019
- 21 5.6-ounce corn dogs in eight minutes, set Oct. 1, 2022
"We imagine—nay, know—that this list will grow with the passing of time. For she is, simply, the reigning queen of competitive eating. Bow to her greatness or face her wrath," her biography reads.
Nick Wehry has quite the impressive eating record himself. He's competed in the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest six times, placing fourth for the past two years.
Wehry is currently the No. 4 ranked eater in the world.
And, as you can imagine, Sudo and Wehry's love story is a unique one.
According to their website, TheHungryCouple.com, the two first crossed paths hours before the 2018 hot dog eating contest and began dating the next year.
After setting a world record in 2021 by eating 50 hard-boiled eggs in three minutes and four seconds, Wehry got down on one knee and asked Sudo to be his wife.
The two are now proud parents to their son Max as they continue eating around the world.
"This act of eating and love proves what we have always known at Major League Eating—the competitive eating is the sport of romance," Wehry's biography reads.