Nick Wehry, who faced allegations of cheating at the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4, offered USA TODAY Sports an explanation for his behavior that has brought him under fire.
Pat Bertoletti won the competition with 58 hot dogs and Wehry finished fourth with a controversial total score of 51.75.
The New York Post reported on Tuesday, citing two anonymous sources, that a video showed Wehry placing another empty plate on the pile in front of him after the competition ended, increasing his score by five hot dogs.
The plates belonged to Sean Yeager, who ate 38.5 hot dogs in his debut at the annual contest at Coney Island in New York. Yeager placed seventh out of 14 competitors.
“I asked Sean how many (hot dogs) he had,” Wehry, 35, told USA TODAY Sports via text message. “He said he did a great job, but it looked like more. Always counting … so that’s what we did. All of us have one plate short, one double plate, etc. at some point.”
There are five hot dogs and buns on the plates served to the contestants during the event. After the competition, the empty plates are used to determine the official number of hot dogs and buns consumed.
According to the allegations, the additional target increased Wehry’s total score from 46.75 to 51.75.
Yeager, standing next to Wehry, told USA TODAY Sports he did not want to comment “until someone can help us get more video footage (of the incident) to clarify this.”
Major League Eating (MLE), the organizer of the Nathan’s competition, said it had investigated the case and taken no action against Wehry, who received $1,000 for his fourth place finish.
“After learning of the allegation related to last Thursday’s contest, MLE investigated the incident, carefully reviewed the complaint and reviewed the videos provided to us,” MLE said in a statement. “Like many other professional sports leagues, it is our policy not to overturn referees’ decisions after the final results have been recorded.
“Today, Nick Wehry asked MLE to lower his score to 46.75 because he touched another eater’s plate. MLE agreed to adjust the official count. Wehry remains fourth in the July 4, 2024 hot dog eating contest.”
Wehry is the fiancée of Nathan’s 10-time women’s competition champion, Miki Sudo, who set a women’s record this year by eating 51 hot dogs and buns. Until this year, Wehry had never been credited with eating 50 or more hot dogs at Nathan’s.
Wehry denied cheating, but said: “I think most of the time competitors accept that things happen and if I hadn’t been caught in the moment, it would be no different than in any other sport, it is what it is and stay ‘on the field’ rather than whining to the media (which is what you assume)… this is cheating to get rid of someone you don’t like.”
He speculated that jealousy of Sudo’s success may have led to the cheating allegations.
“…sometimes people don’t like the success or the positive media attention that Miki and I might get. So this would be a good way to prevent that. But who knows. I don’t blame anyone because that would be presumptuous.”
Wehry also said of the reasons for the allegations: “Maybe I’m not likable. I have silly hairstyles and wear silly clothes, fanny packs and sunglasses. Maybe I’m rude sometimes. I sign on the dotted lines, but I’m not a fraud.”
Contributors: Lorenzo Reyes
Follow Josh Peter on social media @joshlpeter11
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alleged cheater explains his behavior at Nathan’s hot dog eating contest
