Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest Participants: Full List of 2024 Contestants

A look at the field for the 2024 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest.

The Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest will have a new male champion in 2024, as 16-time champion Joey Chestnut has been banned due to a sponsorship with Impossible Foods. While that will remove star power from the July 4 event, it will add intrigue as the field is now wide open for a new male champ.

The field for the hot dog eating contest is massive with both a men's and women's division and nearly 30 competitors. What follows is a look at the event and the eaters involved.

How Many Competitors Are in the Hot Dog Eating Contest?

The 2024 contest with feature 29 eaters—15 men and 14 women. The champions each earn $10,000 and the famous mustard belt. This year's contestants will come from all over the world as it truly has become an international event. Despite Chestnut not being in attendance, the contest will feature many of the world's top-ranked eaters.

Geoffrey Esper, the runner-up in 2023, is the second-ranked eater in the world and likely enters as a heavy favorite on the men's side. He finished 49 hot dogs during the 2023 contest, losing to Chestnut's 62. On the women's side, defending champion Miki Sudo is back again, attempting to win her 10th title.

NAME	AGE	MAJOR LEAGUE EATING RANK
Geoffrey Esper	49	No. 2
Nicholas Wehry	35	No. 4
James Webb	35	No. 5
Gideon Oji	32	No. 6
Derek Hendrickson	36	No. 8
Patrick Bertoletti	39	No. 9
Darrien Thomas	25	No. 12
George Chiger	45	No. 21
Ricardo Corbucci	37	No. 35
Max Stanford	36	Unranked
Radim Dvoracek	33	Unranked
King Yamamoto	40	Unranked
Sean Yeager	32	Unranked
William Claude Lyon IV	36	Unranked
Miki Sudo	38	No. 3
Michelle Lesco	40	No. 10
Mayoi Ebihara	28	No. 14
Larell Marie Mele	60	No. 22
Katie Prettyman	41	No. 23
Jocelyn Young	43	No. 29
Mary Bowers	N/A	No. 39
Cherish Brown	35	Unranked
Julie Goldberg	38	Unranked
Tandra Childress	38	Unranked
Ellen Straub	29	Unranked
Crystal Ocampo	28	Unranked
Elizabeth Salgado	32	Unranked
Rubianne Garcia	32	Unranked

Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contestants in 2024

The lineup for the men's field is below.

Geoffrey Esper, 49 years old, Oxford, Massachusetts, No. 2 ranked eater in the world by Major League Eating.

Nicholas Whery, 35, Tampa, Florida, No. 4 ranked eater in the world.

James Webb, 35, Sydney, Australia, No. 5 ranked eater in the world.

Gideon Oji, 32, Morrow, Georgia, No. 6 ranked eater in the world.

Derek "Heavy D" Hendrickson, 36, Las Vegas, Nevada, No. 8 ranked eater in the world.

Patrick Bertoletti, 39, Chicago Illinois. No. 9 ranked eater in the world.

Max Stanford, 36, Brixton, England, ranked No. 1 in the British Eating League.

Darrien Thomas, 25, Orillia, Ontario, No. 12 ranked eater in the world, ranked No. 1 in Canada.

George Chiger, 45, Pocono Pines, Pennsylvania, No. 21 ranked eater in the world.

Ricardo Corbucci, 37, Brasilia, Brazil, No. 35 ranked eater in the world, No. 1 in South America.

Radim "Steel Rod" Dvoracek, 33, Ostrava, Czech Republic, No. 1 ranked eater in the Czech Republic.

King Yamamoto, 40, Osaka, Japan, unranked. Once ate 17 points of Ramen in 40 minutes.

Sean Yeager, 32, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, unranked. Has a personal best of 36.75 hot dogs and buns.

William Claude Lyon IV, 36, North Augusta, South Carolina, unranked. He ate 30 hot dogs at a qualifying event in Cleveland, Ohio.

The lineup for the women's field is below.

Miki Sudo, 38, Tampa, Florida, No. 3 ranked eater in the world, No. 1 ranked female eater. She's a nine-time Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest women's champion.

Michelle "Cardboard Shell" Lesco, 40, Tuscon, Arizona, No. 10 ranked eater in the world, No. 2 ranked female eater. She won the contest in 2021 when Sudo skipped it due to pregnancy.

Mayoi "Ebimayo" Ebihara, 28, Tokyo, Japan, No. 14 ranked eater in the world, No. 3 ranked female eater.

Larell Marie Mele, 60, Long Pond, Pennsylvania, No. 22 ranked eater in the world, No. 4 ranked female eater.

Katie Prettyman, 41, Marysville, Washington, No. 23 ranked eater in the world, No. 5 ranked female eater.

Jocelyn Young, 43, Sherman, Texas, No. 29 ranked eater in the world, No. 6 ranked female eater.

Mary Bowers, Seoul, South Korea, No. 39 eater in the world, No. 9 ranked female eater.

Cherish Brown, 35, Edon, Ohio, unranked. She'll be making her third appearance in the contest.

Julie Goldberg, 38, Astoria, Queens, unranked. The only New Yorker in the 2024 contest will be making her seventh appearance.

Tandra Childress, 38, San Francisco, California, unranked, has a personal best of 12 hot dogs and buns.

Ellen Straub, 29, Palm Bay, Florida, unranked, will be making her first appearance.

Crystal "Crystal Pistol" Ocampo, 28, Vallejo, California, unranked, will be making her first appearance.

Elizabeth "Glizzy Lizzy" Salgado, 32, Kern County, California, unranked, will be making her third appearance in the contest.

Rubianne Garcia, 32, San Antonio, Texas, unranked, will be making her first appearance in the contest.

How to Qualify for Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest

To qualify for the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest a competitor must be 18 years or older and under contract to Major League Eating. That said, there are often special invitees from MLE to the event, and anyone can enter qualifying events with winners earning a spot in the contest. In 2024, Nathan's Famous hosted four qualifying events across the country.