Contestants in the Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating contest are unable to cope with the weight of a cheating scandal and are demanding that their scores be restored to their original values, The Washington Post has exclusively revealed.
Nick Wherry, husband of women’s champion and pink mustard belt holder Miki Sudo, was accused of using sleight-of-hand tactics to inflate his own scores at the July 4th tournament and establish himself as one of the sport’s most accomplished competitors.
“I am saddened that allegations of cheating have been made and I would like to reiterate that I did not cheat at the event,” Wherry said, “However, due to the allegations of cheating that arose from touching another participant’s plate, I have asked Major League Eating to reduce my score to 46.75 hot dogs and buns. I sincerely apologize for any doubts that may have been cast on the outcome of the event.”
On the day of the competition in Coney Island, Whaley consumed 46.75 hot dogs in the allotted 10 minutes, although his official score was later raised to 51.75 in the standings on the official Major League Eating website.
A source close to the competition told The Post that eating 50 hot dogs is considered the pinnacle mark that separates average contestants from top hot dog eaters. Though the allegedly inflated score didn’t move Welly up in the rankings, his official score went from 46.75 to 51.75, putting him among the best in the sport.
According to sources, after the time was up, Wherry moved an empty plate on the competition table and piled more hot dogs on top of it — and because judges count five hot dogs per plate when making their official tally, the extra plate was enough to move his score up into the elite tier.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Whaley’s official score was scaled down to 46.75 on the MLE website, and that total was recorded by ESPN and the Post on the day of the contest.
