29 hot dogs in 10 minutes: Inside the KC area’s first Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest
Old Shawnee Days is a staple in Johnson County, bringing thousands to Shawnee Town 1929 for four free days of entertainment. Live music, games, a local market square, carnival food and a parade highlight the event that takes place from June 5 to 8.
But one food item stood above the rest and captivated the crowd Saturday, June 7.
For the first time ever, Nathan’s Famous brought its international hot dog eating contest to Old Shawnee Days. Hundreds of guests flocked to the main stage to watch the contestants scarf as many hot dogs as possible in 10 minutes.
The contest kicked off at 6 p.m., and some guests were seen claiming seats an hour in advance, opting to sit in the sun and wait instead of wandering around the festival until it was time for the show to begin. For the rest of the crowd, they had to stand and watch 13 competitors try to claim a spot in the championship round on the 4th of July at Coney Island in New York City.
How did the competitors prepare?
Thirteen people applied and were approved to compete in Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog eating contest Saturday. They come from all parts of the world, traveling from Texas, Arkansas, New Jersey and the Czech Republic to compete in Shawnee.
Nine men and four women participated, with the top eater from each gender securing a spot at Coney Island.
A few were competing for the first timer, while Jocelyn Young from Sherman, Texas, is in her eighth year as a competitive eater. Her first time started off as a joke, entering a contest in Dallas as something that she thought would be fun. Now, she’s been to the championship round six times and was once the No. 29-ranked eater in the world and No. 1-ranked eater in Texas with Major League Eating, who host other eating contests in addition to hot dogs.
How does she prepare? It’s pretty simple. She eats hot dogs and drinks water.
It’s a much different plan compared to Seth Weisman from Nashville, who’s competing in the contest for the first time. He’s in Shawnee for the contest, since it’s the closest qualifier to where he lives.
His preparation saw him participate in a lot of volume eating, an approach that focuses on consuming items that are high in volume, like vegetables and water. He’s also been working out in the gym.
“You definitely want to have a leaner body physique because the more fat you have on your body, the harder it is for your stomach to expand,” Weisman said. “The leaner you are, the easier it is for your stomach to expand.
He started training specially for the contest two months ago when he learned his application was accepted.
Hot dog flavored water and other tips from the pros
Overseeing the contest was Nathan’s Hot Dog eating champion Miki Sudo. She holds the women’s world record for the most hot dogs eaten in 10 minutes with 51, having accomplished the feat in 2024.
Sudo’s undefeated in the contest, having won 10 times from 2014 to 2024. She missed 2021 when she was pregnant with her son, but returned and is set on defending her crown against the leader of the women in Shawnee’s competition.
The No. 1 ranked women’s eater in the world was here to scout the competition and offer advice to the competitors, like working on their physical and mental health during their training sessions. She said preparing for the weather elements is key, since most of the contests are held on sunny days, like Saturday saw after the rain.
“Anything done competitively has a mental element to it,” Sudo said.
She emphasized that the competitors should be safe and have fun while they’re on stage, and should use the crowd’s energy to their advantage.
She also advocated for dunking the hot dogs in the water cups. The science behind this strategy is that the water softens the bun, making it easier to swallow. It’s also why if you’ve ever watched a hot dog-eating contest, you’ll often see competitors drink the hot dog-flavored water.
Who won the hot dog eating contest?
Major League Eating announcer Sam Barclay kicked off the competition, introducing each competitor. Lisa Cowan and Kelsi Hunner received the loudest ovations from the crowd, since Cowan hails from Leawood and Hunner is from Lee’s Summit.
Barclay counted down the crowd and at 6:16 p.m., the Old Shawnee Days crowd was treated to 10 minutes of nonstop hot dog eating. They saw Weisman shake his head and pause his eating midway through the competition. Cameron Mead from Valparaiso, Indiana, was jumping up and down from the beginning, getting the crowd behind him as he ate one hot dog after another.
Peter Ritter from the New Jersey area was scolded by Barclay for the amount of debris he left on the table after eating the hot dogs. So did Jacob Carr from Fort Worth, Texas, and Bryant Davis from Springdale, Arkansas.
Barclay also shouted out Cowan as she took her time eating hot dogs, saying that her four kids have an awesome mom and that they should be ashamed of themselves if they ever disappoint her. Qualified competitors like Sudo and others in the crowd were watching intensely, taking notes on what they can do to improve their chances at the championship round.
A few of the competitors’ shirts were drenched in sweat and water from being in the sun and feeling the pressure of the clock, but no one threw up or needed assistance from the Shawnee Police Department or Shawnee Fire Department, both of whom were backstage in case of an emergency.
The results came in, and Mead’s jumping almost booked his ticket to Coney Island. He ate 25 hot dogs, but it wasn’t enough. Radim Dvoracek ate 29 1/2 hot dogs, winning the men’s competition. The Czech is a pro eater and is known as “Steel Rod” in Major League Eating.
Young set out to eat 12 hot dogs on stage. She came close, officially eating 11 1/4 in 10 minutes. It was also enough to win the women’s competition and send her back to New York City for a seventh time.
Dvoracek will see himself face defending champion Patrick Bertoletti and Nick Wehry, who is married to Sudo. Meanwhile Young will try to dethrone Sudo and end her undefeated streak.
Like most things, the pros make it look easy.
Full results from Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Qualifier in Shawnee, KS
Men
- Radim Dvoracek: 29 1/2
- Cameron Meade: 25
- Peter Ritter: 18 1/2
- Seth Weisman: 15
- Cody Dulaney: 14
- Ryan Speer: 13
- Jacob Carr: 12
- Bryant Davis: 9 3/4
Women
- Jocelyn Young: 11 1/4
- Lisa Cowan: 7 1/2
- Kelsi Hunner: 6
- Sydney Rogers: 5 1/2
This story was originally published June 7, 2025 at 9:55 PM.
