Tucson resident Michelle Lesco began her Independence Day morning by eating 32-and-a-half hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes.
It’s tradition at this point. Last year, Lesco ate 27 hot dogs in 10 minutes.
This year’s performance earned Lesco second place for the women’s title at the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest behind her training buddy and four-time winner Miki Sudo, who ate 41 hot dogs.
“I feel great,” Lesco said. “Trained hard, mostly thanks to my charity water fundraiser hitting over $1,000 and making me do 10 practices over the last couple weeks. So the hard work paid off. Hit just shy of my goal, but second place is nothing to scoff at.”
The competitive eating isn’t limited to July for Lesco — for more information on her eating adventures, read our full feature on her, Meet ‘Cardboard Shell’ Michelle Lesco, World-Class Competitive Eater.
Keep up with Cardboard Shell on Facebook.
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Article written by:
Jackie Tran
More about JackieJackie Tran is a Tucson-based food writer, photographer, culinary educator, and owner-chef of the now-closed food truck Tran’s Fats. Although he is best known locally for his work for Tucson Foodie, his work has also appeared in publications such as Bon Appétit, National Geographic, and the New York Times.
An adventurous foodie, he enjoys culinary experiences ranging from seasonal omakase to sloppily devouring green chili patty melts in his car afterhours. His favorite foods include aguachile, garlic noodles, and leftover fried chicken illuminated by the fridge light. His favorite drinks include morning micheladas, fireside imperial stouts, candle-lit negroni, and grassy mezcales.
Outside of food, he also loves playing musical instruments, karaoke, Tetris, Super Smash Bros. Melee, and petting Addie’s dog Spaghetti.
If you’d like to stalk him, visit his Instagram @jackie_tran_ or jackietran.com.
