JOEY CHESTNUT & SONYA THOMAS ARE NATHAN'S HOT DOG EATING WORLD CHAMPS

JOEY CHESTNUT SECURES SIXTH NATHAN’S TITLE WITH 68 HOT DOGS, SONYA THOMAS DEVOURS 45 TO SET NEW WOMEN’S WORLD RECORD

Coney Island, July 5, 2012 — Joey “Jaws” Chestnut of San Jose, CA, and Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas of Alexandria, VA, successfully defended their respective titles of Men’s and Women’s Hot Dog Eating World Champion at the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest, held annually at the original Nathan’s Famous in Coney Island.

In front of a crowd of some 40,000 fans, Chestnut – the No. 1-ranked eater in the world – secured his sixth consecutive Nathan’s Famous championship and tied his own world record of 68 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. A total of 15 male eaters from the U.S. and Canada attempted to capture a celebrated American symbol – The Mustard Yellow International Belt. Chestnut chomped his way to victory past second place finisher Tim “Eater X” Janus of New York City who downed 52.25 hot dogs and buns and Chicago’s Pat “Deep Dish” Bertoletti who ate 51. Matt “megatoad” Stonie of San Jose, CA, placed fourth with 46 and Bob “Notorious B.O.B.” Shoudt of Royersford, PA, ate 45 to place fifth.

The Women’s Hot Dog Eating World Championship, featuring 100-pound Thomas – the top-ranked female eater in the world – took place just prior to the Men’s competition. Thomas devoured 45 hot dogs and buns to set a new female world record and earn the second Women’s Hot Dog Eating Championship title since its inception in 2011. Juliet Lee of Germantown, MD, ate 33 hot dogs and buns to earn second place and Michelle “Cardboard Shell” Lesco of Tucson, AZ, downed 25.5. Canadian Meredith “deep fried diva” Boxberger of Barrie, Ontario, captured fourth place with 21.5 and Larell Marie Mele of Long Pond, PA, ate 21.25 for fifth place. A total of 14 women competed in the finals, the most in Nathan’s Famous history.

The event has a deep tradition and history and, for second year in a row, male and female eaters competed separately for the titles of Men’s Hot Dog Eating World Champion and Women’s Hot Dog Eating World Champion. The contests offered a total of $40,000 in cash prizes.

The 2012 Men’s and Women’s Championships took place at the original Nathan’s Famous in Coney Island where nearly 40,000 eating fans and July Fourth revelers watched the contest. The event has become part of the fabric of America’s annual July Fourth celebration, and was streamed live online at ESPN3.com beginning at 11:30 a.m. and broadcast on ESPN at 3 p.m. following Wimbledon.

The competitors earned their seats at the finals by winning one of a dozen qualifying rounds that occurred in April, May and June throughout the U.S. and Canada.

The contest was free and open to the public. The contest pre-show began at 10 a.m. with Motown band, X-cluzive with Sonni Dey, followed by varied entertainment, including the world-renowned Skyriders trampoline performers, the strongman Chris Rider, a game of “horse” between Brooklyn Nets star Marshon Brooks and a member of the crowd, and the first annual “Apple Pie Dive.” Nathan’s Famous donated 100,000 hot dogs to the Food Bank For New York City prior to the competition.

About Nathan’s Famous Nathan’s Famous products are currently distributed in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Cayman Islands and six foreign countries through its restaurant system, foodservice sales programs and retail licensing activities. The Nathan’s restaurant system currently consists of 304 units, comprised of 299 franchised or licensed units and five company-owned units (including one seasonal unit). Nathan’s hot dogs are sold in over 40,000 retail and foodservice locations. For additional information about Nathan’s visit www.nathansfamous.com.

FULL RESULTS

MEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS 1-Joey Chestnut - 68 Nathan's Famous hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes (ties his own World Record) 2-Eater X Tim Janus - 52.25 3-Pat Bertoletti - 51 4-Matt Stonie - 46 5-B.O.B. Shoudt - 45 6-Adrian Morgan - 35 T7-Sean Gordon - 32 T7-Erik Denmark - 32 9-Micah Collins - 31 10-Gravy Brown - 30.5 11-Pete Davekos - 28 12-Badlands Booker - 25.5 13-Yasir Salem - 25 14-Crazy Legs Conti - 20 15-Lee Vilinsky - 15

WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS 1-Sonya Thomas - 45 Nathan's Famous hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes (sets new Women's World Record) 2-Juliet Lee - 33 3-Michelle Lesco - 25.5 4-Meredith Boxberger - 21.5 5-Larell Marie Mele - 21.25 6-Maria Edible - 18.5 7-Nicole Anderson - 16 8-Dee Martin - 9.5 9-Neslie Ricasa - 9 10-Mary Bowers - 8.5 11Theresa Subich - 7 12-Mia Davekos - 6 13-Molly Nemunaitis - 5.5 14-Janice Deregla - 3