By Jack Henry

The modern sports world is filled with debate. If you flip to ESPN, or any other sports broadcasting channel, odds are that you will find two people intensely debating over any obscure sports topic that the human brain could possibly conceive. Of these debates, there is one that reigns supreme, one that is seemingly on everybody’s mind all of the time: the GOAT. 

The GOAT, or Greatest of All Time, debate is one that has been prevalent in sports for as long as they have existed. Since there is much debate surrounding this topic, there is no consensus GOAT among any of the major sports except perhaps ice hockey, a sport that was dominated by Wayne Gretzky for decades. Basketball has the famous LeBron vs. Jordan debate, soccer has Messi vs. Ronaldo, American football has Brady vs. Montana (although that debate has been mostly settled with Brady’s prolonged success), and baseball has about a dozen players who could feasibly be named the GOAT. With all of that being said, there is one man who has a case for being the best athlete ever, and nobody seems to be talking about him.

Individual sports have the easiest way of measuring a person’s greatness, as one can simply look at the amount of championships they have won, the number of records they have set, and the longevity of an individual’s career to gauge their greatness. This is why solo athletes like Tiger Woods and Serena Williams are undeniably great. They don’t have poor teams to hold them back, or great ones to make them seem greater than they are, and they are solely known for their own, personal, achievements. With all of this information taken into account, it can be reasonably concluded that Joey Chestnut is the greatest competitor of all time.

Chestnut after winning Nathan’s contest in 2018. Photo credit: Yahoo Sports.

In case you aren’t familiar with him, Joey Chestnut is the greatest competitive eater of all time. He burst onto the scene in 2007, winning the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, a competition that is held on July 4 every year at New York City’s Coney Island, where all of the best eaters from around the world compete to see who can eat the most hotdogs, with buns, as possible in ten minutes. In 2007, Chestnut successfully ate a world record 66 hot dogs (Content warning: the linked video is not for those who have a weak stomach) in only ten minutes. This type of performance from a first-time competitor in any field is beyond impressive, but Chestnut only continued his success from there. In the following seven years, Chestnut won the contest all seven times, rewriting his world record two more times. But then, in 2015, something happened. Matt Stonie, a man who had been in Chestnut’s shadow for years, coming in second in the previous three contests, took down Chestnut. 

Chestnut’s loss shocked the world. The king had been dethroned in front of millions of people live on TV. But Chestnut’s previous victories are not what makes him the greatest ever. It is the way he returned after defeat. After losing to Stonie, Chestnut returned the next year, and what he did was incredible. Chestnut set a world record for 70 hot dogs eaten in just ten minutes, which allotted him just over eleven seconds per hot dog. After his bounce-back victory, Chestnut continued his reign over the competitive eating world, winning every single Nathan’s contest since 2015, and rewriting his world record four more times in the following six years. 

Chestnut and Stonie in 2019. Photo credit: The Mercury News.

In anything, greatness does not come easily, and competitive eating is no exception. Chestnut follows very strict training regimens, with his training for the Nathan’s contest beginning roughly six months before the contest itself. In December, Chestnut starts to eat more than he normally does, as well as work out and exercise more, which prepares his body for the competition. The average recommended caloric intake for a man of Chestnut’s age, height, and weight is roughly 2,600 calories per day, but in competition, Chestnut eats over 10,000 calories in only ten minutes. So physical preparation for this is very much necessary. In preparation for this, Chestnut does practice competitions once a week for the two months leading up to the real contest. Even his practice rounds require preparation, as Chestnut does a two-day water and juice cleanse leading up to every practice round, which is the exact same cleanse he does before the actual contest. This combination of dedication and natural ability are what makes Chestnut an athlete of unprecedented dominance.

Chestnut’s dominance does not only apply to hotdogs, as he holds roughly 50 competitive eating world records across various food items, and this is how he earns a living. For most people, eating is a necessity, something that you need to do about three times a day to stay healthy and happy. But for Chestnut, eating is everything. He earns roughly $600,000 per year in numerous eating competitions and is showing no signs of slowing down.

Chestnut’s domination of the competitive eating scene is unparalleled in any other sport. No one person has been as dominant in their field for as long as Chestnut has, and at the age of 38, he is still going strong.