990701 Hot-Dog Eating Title Returns to U.S.

New York - A big-bellied, bearded and bandana'd Steve “The Terminator” Keiner ate a bite more than 20 hot dogs in 12 minutes Sunday to win the Nathan's annual hog dog eating contest.

While his gustatory feat did not approach the record of 24- 1/2 wieners downed by the defending champion, 130-pound Hirofumi Nakajima of Japan, it was enough to take the mustard yellow International Belt from Nakajima, who had to settle for third place after downing a mere 19-1/3 hot dogs.

“I feel great!” the 317-pound Keiner proclaimed as he was presented with his trophy. The 50-year-old Atlantic City, New Jersey, electrical inspector said he “took the Zen approach” on the road to victory.

“I went down a path that the hot dog was one with me and I was one with the universe,” he said. Skipping breakfast helped, he added. Saying that he “wanted it so bad I could taste it,” Keiner said he came to the contest to return the belt to the United States.

“There's nothing more American on the 4th of July than hot dogs,” he said, noting that the traditional frankfurters are the only eating contests that interest him.

Just a bite behind Keiner with 20 hot dogs each were Bartoszek Tadeusz, who hails from Poland but resides in New York City, and corrections officer Charles “The Hungry” Hardy, who also came in second last year and is from New York.

Keiner's technique of keeping hot dog and bun together as he rammed them down his throat -- what he called the “pile driver” approach -- gave him the edge. In recent years, most contestants have adopted Nakajima's method of separating the components, dipping the bun in water to condense it and then chowing down on the hot dog.

All of the contestants passed on the available mustard and ketchup condiments, and most opted to eat standing up.

The 84th annual contest was held outside Nathan's restaurant in Coney Island, names that have become synonymous with hot dogs. A carnival atmosphere prevailed as clowns and jugglers mingled with hundreds of local and international journalists who convened on the once grand, now seedy amusement park for the annual tradition.

Hundreds of fans cheered on their friends, yelling “C'mon Mongo!” to an extensively tattooed 300-pounder who adopted the distinctly unappetizing technique of dunking hot dog and bun in water and wringing it out before downing it.

All was not rowdy enthusiasm, though, as vegetarians mingled in the crowd handing out leaflets on the risks of meat consumption.

The contest began in 1916 as a publicity stunt for Nathan's Famous, which opened at the spectacular amusement park that season. Despite the attention lavished on the event, Americans are consuming fewer franks -- 826 million pounds in the 12 months ending in March, down about eight million pounds from 1995 -- according to Information Resources Inc.

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