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Joey Chestnut has just carved himself into the Mount Rushmore of All-Time Injured Athletes Who Won A Title.  By winning with a ruptured tendon, hindered by crutches, and eating his way to a 15th title, Chestnut has cemented his legacy among the greatest athletes of all-time. 

Most everyone agrees that Chestnut's already reached the upper echelons of every major category in competitive eating.  However, today's championship victory was different.  Eventhough Joey was hobbled on one leg, facing one of the biggest obstacles of his career, he still managed to out-eat every other challenger and leave them choking in his dust.   And by doing so, ate his way onto a very short and distinguished list. 

Competitive Eating Is A Real Sport

Before we continue, let's address the elephant in the room... competitive eating is a real sport.  It takes months of preparation and training to reach the top of the eating championships, and it's just as challenging as any other athletic sport. 

Chestnut deserves to be recognized on the same level as Lebron James, Mike Trout, or even Wayne Gretzky.  Can any of those superstars eat 70 hotdogs in 10 minutes?  I truly doubt it.  So, let's put that question to rest and move on forward.  

True Champions Endure The Pain

By capturing his 15th Nathan's Hotdog Eating Contest, on crutches nonetheless, Joey Chestnut has chiseled his way onto an exclusive list, one which includes sports legends such as Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan.  Whether it was a broken leg or the flu, both Woods and Jordan won titles while playing hurt.  

So, while Chestnut's feats are unparalled in the world of competitve eating, he has done something that very few in any sport has done.  He endured the pain and pushed himself to a 7th consecutive victory, even when the odds were heavily stacked against him.  That's the mark of a real champion.  

So, without further ado, here is the Mount Rushmore of the Greatest Athletes (from every sport) Who Won A Title While Injured.  


All-Time Mount Rushmore Of Injured Athletes Winning A Title

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If Joey Chestnut wins Nathan's Hotdog Competition tomorrow, he could join the Mount Rushmore of Championship Athletes competing injured.  Who will forget Michael Jordan and his infamous flu game?  Or Curt Schilling pitching for Boston in a bloody sock?  Or even Tiger Woods winning the U.S. Open on a broken leg?

All eyes will be on Joey Chestnut tomorrow, as many question whether this is the biggest challenge of his career.  For the first time ever, Chestnut will be competitive eating with a severe injury, after an unfortunate accident ruptured his tendon, that will force him to eat on crutches.  

Do You Believe In Miracles?

However, nothing may be more miraculous than a severely injured man eating over 70 hotdogs on hobbled legs.  Few realize the endurance and skill it takes to be successful in competitive eating, which can take months of both mental and physical training.  If Chestnut can pull off another Hotdog Eating Championship win, he could easily be mentioned in the same breath as Schilling, Woods, and yes... even Michael Jordan.

If we dive in even deeper, it could even be argued that Chestnut's Mustard Belts are more impressive than Jordan's six basketball titles with the Chicago Bulls.  With another win, Joey's 15 Hotdog Eating Championships would far surpass Jordan's 6 Basketball Championships.  Some could even argue that Jordan won his Championships in a team sport, while Chestnut had to win his Mustard Belts alone.

The Legacy Grows

However, that's a conversation saved for another day, as we wait for tomorrow's 2022 Nathan's Hotdog Eating Competition.  If Chestnut can win while injured, he will definitely be added to the "Mount Rushmore of Injured Athletes Winning a Title".

Chestnut will going for his 7th straight win, and 15th win overall, which will add to his illustrious collection of Mustard Belts.  Regardless the outcome, he is already the undisputed leader in Competitive Eating Hot Dog competitions, and nobody else comes even close.

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Almost 8 years ago, on July 26, 2013, Reza Aslan appeared in an interview on Fox News and made meme history by defending his book and himself against an unprepared news host.  From start to finish, anyone who saw the interview walked away impressed by Aslan's ability to counter every attack thrown at him.  

Hotdog Comedy At Its Best

Five days later, on July 31, 2013, a Comedy Channel named "Above Average" created a hilarious parody that imagined what would happen if Aslan were defending his hotdog eating abilities instead of his book on religion.  It is quite an interesting and humorous metaphor.  

Below is the original interview between Reza Aslan and the Fox News Host.



And now here is the Above Average parody of a comedian pretending to be Aslan defending his ability to competively eat hotdogs.   



The most fascinating thing is that they chose Competitive Hotdog Eating as the main metaphor in this parody.  It shows us how a sandwich can represent something more than just food.  It can also be used as a tool to express an idea and give commentary on everyday life.  

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The legend of Joey Chestnut continues to grow as he claimed his 14th Nathan's Hotdog Eating Championship last weekend by eating 76 Hotdogs and Buns in 10 minutes.  He broke his previous World Record of 75 in a unparalleled display of sandwich eating dominance. 

The next closest competitor was Geoffrey Esper in 2nd place, finishing with an impressive total of 50 Hotdogs and Buns.  However, we feel it's fair to say that Chestnut blew away his competition and it wasn't even close.  In the world of Competive Eating, we may never see this level of excellence again, so we should enjoy it while we can.

Currently, Joey Chestnut holds 46 World Records in 46 different disciplines, which is a World Record for World Records.¹  In order to fully understand the Chestnut phenomenon, we have to take a look at his current slate of achievements.

Joey Chestnut's List of World Records¹

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In celebration of the 4th of July and the 245th Birthday of America, we have created a list honoring the last 50 plus years of Nathan's World Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. 

Over the last week, we have been searching for an easy-to-read list of previous contest winners to no avail, so we decided to create our own.

All-Time List of Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Champions