Nick Wehry, facing allegations of cheating at the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4, offered an explanation to USA TODAY Sports for his actions that have put him under scrutiny.
Pat Bertoletti won the contest with 58 hot dogs and Wehry finished fourth with a disputed total of 51.75.
The New York Post, citing two anonymous sources, reported Tuesday that video showed Wehry moved an additional empty plate onto the stack in front of him after the competition had ended, thereby increasing his score by five hot dogs.
The plates belonged to Sean Yeager, who ate 38.5 hot dogs during his debut at the annual contest on Coney Island in New York. Yeager finished seventh out of 14 contestants.
“I asked Sean how many (hot dogs) he got,’’ Wehry, 35, told USA TODAY Sports by text. “Said awesome job but it looked like more. Always recount…so we did. All of us at one point or another have been shorted a plate, double plated etc.’’
The plates, served to competitors during the event, hold five dogs and buns. After the contest, empty plates are used to determine the official tally of hot dogs and buns consumed.
The extra plate boosted Wehry’s total to 51.75 from 46.75, according to the allegations.
Yeager, who competed while standing next to Wehry, told USA TODAY Sports he did not want to comment “until someone can help us get more video (of the incident) to put this thing to bed.’’
Major League Eating (MLE), which runs the Nathan’s contest, said it investigated the matter and was taking no action against Wehry, who received $1,000 for finishing fourth.
“After being made aware of the accusation stemming from last Thursday’s contest, MLE investigated the incident, carefully considering the complaint and reviewing the videos provided to us,’’ MLE said in a statement. “Like many other professional sports leagues, it is our policy to not overturn judges’ decisions after the final results have been recorded.
“Earlier today, Nick Wehry asked MLE to lower his score to 46.75 based on his touching another eater’s plates. MLE has agreed to adjust the official count. Wehry remains the 4th place finisher of the hot dog eating contest on July 4, 2024.”
Wehry is the fiancé of Nathan’s 10-time women’s champion Miki Sudo, who this year set a women’s record by eating 51 hot dogs and buns. Until this year, Wehry had not been credited with eating 50 or more hot dogs at Nathan’s.
While Wehry denied cheating, he did say, “…most of the time I think competitors accept that things happen and if I wasn’t caught in the moment, no different than other sports it is what it is and stays “on the field’’ vs whining to the media for (what you assume)…is cheating to try to take someone down that you don’t like.’’
He speculated that jealousy of Sudo’s success could have led to the allegations of cheating.
“…people sometimes don’t like success, or positive media attention that miki and I may get. So this would be a good way to derail that. But who knows. I’m not accusing anybody because that would be assuming.’’
On why the allegations surfaced, Wehry also said, “Maybe I’m not likable. I have silly hair and wear dumb clothes and fanny packs and pit vipers (sunglasses). Maybe I’m abrasive at times. I’ll sign those dotted lines, but I’m not a cheater.’’
Follow Josh Peter on social media @joshlpeter11