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Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest 2016: Results, Prize Money Payouts and Reaction

Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRTX.com LogoFeatured ColumnistJuly 4, 2016

Matt Stonie, right, reigning hot dog-eating champion, stares down eight-time champion Joey Chestnut during the official weigh in for Nathans Famous hot dog eating contest, Friday, July 1, 2016, in New York. Brooklyn borough President Eric Adams stand between the men. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Mary Altaffer/Associated Press

Joey Chestnut cruised to the 100th Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest title on Monday and broke his own world record in the process, eating an incredible 70 hot dogs in 10 minutes.

Matt Stonie, who won last year's contest by eating 62 hot dogs, managed to get down only 53 this year, finishing in second place.

"Last year was rough, but everyone was like, 'It's gonna make next year better.' And everyone was right," Chestnut said after the event, per the WatchESPN live stream.

Here are the results:

Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest Top Finishers
CompetitorHot DogsPrize
Joey Chestnut70$10,000
Matt Stonie53$5,000
Carmen Cincotti41$2,500
Gideon Oji38$1,500

Chestnut won eight straight times between 2007 and 2014 before Stonie ended his reign of terror last year. Chestnut had ended the dominance of Takeru Kobayashi, who won the contest six straight times between 2001 and 2006.

Some people thought that perhaps Stonie was primed to ascend to the throne after his 62-dog performance last year, when he beat Chestnut by two hot dogs, but the most dominant hot dog eater in history reclaimed his top spot in the sport.

"No excuses," Stonie said after his loss. "Joey came out and brought his A-game, so I can't take that away from him."

Chestnut credited last year's loss to Stonie for the dominant showing.

"It's his fault," he said of Stonie. "He beat me last year and awoke the sleeping giant. He made me go back to the drawing board and relearn my body. And I did it, and I'm happy."

Not only did he do it, but he did it in style. Simply put, Chestnut defies comparison, as Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com noted:

Jerry Crasnick @jcrasnick

Joey Chestnut is the Joey Chestnut of competitive eating. #NathansFamous

On a day when NBA superstar Kevin Durant announced his decision to sign with the Golden State Warriors on the Players' Tribune, shocking the sports world, Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area couldn't help but joke that Chestnut was the bigger story:

Matt Maiocco @MaioccoNBCS

Joey Chestnut just upstaged the Warriors and Kevin Durant. In fact, I’d say he stole their thunder.

And in case anyone was wondering if Chestnut would retire on top, he confirmed after his win that he would return to the contest next year.

That's bad news for Stonie and the rest of the field. And perhaps for the world record, as well, which Chestnut keeps breaking.

Meanwhile, in the women's showdown between Sonya Thomas and Miki Sudo, the latter came out on top, eating 38 dogs to Thomas' 34 in a tense battle. That earned Sudo the $10,000 top prize, while Thomas took home $5,000 for finishing as the runner-up.

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