Back in 2021, local Tucsonan Michelle Lesco snagged first place at Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest — taking the “Pink Belt” home.
She didn’t take home the mustard this year but she did get third place in the women’s challenge. During the event, Lesco had to eat as many Nathan’s Famous hot dogs in buns as she could within a 10-minute period.
She ate 23.75 hot dogs to win the bronze! Right on, Lesco! If you round that up to the nearest hot dog, that’s pretty much 24 hot dogs.
Miki Sudo, out of Florida, took first place by eating a record-breaking 51 dogs in 10 minutes — winning her tenth career championship.
Mayoi Ebihara, of Tokyo, Japan, came in second after eating 37 dogs.
If you’d like to learn more about some of her past eating adventures, read our full feature on her, Meet ‘Cardboard Shell’ Michelle Lesco, World-Class Competitive Eater.
Keep up with Cardboard Shell on Facebook.
Article written by:
Matt Sterner
More about MattAt a very young age, Matt Sterner was gifted with the artistic ability to masterfully roll a burrito to the highest of standards, but the wrapped medley of delicious innards wasn’t his first love. Matt’s first true love was a combination of reading, writing, and creating. He grew up reading comics, the ingredients list of his shampoo and conditioner bottles, choose-your-own-adventure books, and the Scrabble dictionary — something he found useful when challenging his grandmother to a game.
He attended college at New Mexico State University and graduated with a degree in Digital Filmmaking. One of his favorite classes was screenwriting because he became responsible for the story’s birth before it came to life on-screen. After school, Matt took on numerous positions at a local television station in Tucson. From dealing out stories about heartbreak to producing “fluffier” content for a lifestyle broadcast, he learned what it takes to adapt to the many emotions the world of media can stir. Since 2017, Matt has dabbled in the culinary world of Tucson as well as San Diego, California from time to time.
If you’re in the mood for strange stories, head over to his pride and joy, wonkytimes.com. And in case you’re curious — yes, after all of this time, he still manages to roll a killer burrito.
