How Do You Cheat At A Hot Dog Eating Contest? Somebody May Have Found A Way

Cheating and scandals are a part of almost every major sport, and the world of competitive eating is no different. In the 2024 Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Competition, held and sponsored by Nathan's Hot Dogs, competitor Nick Wehry was accused of cheating. How did he allegedly do it? Once the event was concluded, some accused Wehry of moving an additional empty plate to his pile. But how would this have helped, and how does one even cheat at a hot dog eating contest in the first place?

In the Nathan's contest, the amount of hot dogs (with buns) each competitor has consumed is officially measured by how many empty plates are left on the competitors' table. At the event, Wehry's score was 46.75, but when official scores went live on Major League Eating's website, it was 51.75, a full five dogs (or one plate) higher. Today, the original 46.75 score stands.

Supposedly, Wehry was recorded on video lingering by the table after the competition and moving things around, which is when he could have moved the empty plate to his pile. This is according to two anonymous sources, who were quoted on July 9, a full five days after the contest.

So far, there's little concrete proof to support the allegations against Nick Wehry. Major League Eating (MLE) has reviewed the evidence and declined to take any official action against Wehry, who was not disqualified or barred from future events. Video of the 2024 competition doesn't do much to reveal whether or not he truly moved an unearned plate to his pile.

This is not a first-place scandal, either. Wehry placed fourth in the 2024 competition, and his performance didn't even come close to the first-place score of 58 by Patrick Bertoletti. It certainly wasn't the Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest record of 78 dogs, held by Joey Chestnut, who's also the contestant with the most wins (though Chestnut didn't compete in the 2024 Nathan's contest). The extra five dogs would not have made a difference, so what's the point? Some believe it's because the extra plate would have raised his tally above 50 hot dogs, a prestigious professional eating milestone.

To this day, Wehry denies these allegations, as does his wife Miki Sudo, winner of the 2024 women's category with a score of 51 dogs (the first time a female competitor broke 50). As Wehry told the New York Post, "If MLE determines I miscounted then change my number. My placing did not change if this was the case. I would never want to take a placing or number I didn't earn. I would never cheat at a contest, regardless of why. People who know me know that."