Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest: Joey Chestnut Wins His Fifth Straight Championship

Joey "Jaws" Chestnut won the 2011 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest in Coney Island today by eating 62 hot dogs in 10 minutes, his fifth straight title. Second was Pat "Deep Dish" Bertoletti with 53 dogs and Tim "Eater X" Janus came in third with 45 dogs. Coming in fifth was the long-haired 18-year-old rookie sensation Matt "Megatoad" Stonie.

Before the contest, Joey Chestnut proclaimed himself a "Big, hungry American eating machine." And it seems like he was right because he was the man who walked away with the coveted Mustard Yellow Belt and the $20,000 prize. Here are the official results and scoreboard for the top five contestants of the 2011 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest:

Men's Field Final Results:

1. Joey "Jaws" Chestnut: 62 hot dogs

2. Pat "Deep Dish" Bertoletti: 53 hot dogs

3. Tim "Eater X" Janus: 45 hot dogs

4. Bob "Notorious B.O.B." Shoudt: 39

5. Matt "Megatoad" Stonie: 36

Joey Chestnut holds the record for most hot dogs ever eaten at Nathan's contest with 68 in ten minutes back in 2009. Also in 2009, the 105-pound Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas set the female record with 41 dogs eaten.

The winner has to eat the most hot dogs in 10 minutes, and one of the few little-known rules is that players are automatically disqualified for a "reversal," otherwise known as throwing up.

And because of the disparity between the sexes, this is the first year the gender's were split into two groups. As Nathan's MC George Shea explained, "Serena Williams didn't have to beat Roger Federer to win the Wimbledon Championship. Sonya won the first female championship this year by downing 40 hot dogs.

Takeru Kobayashi, the hot dog champion from 2001 to 2007 and arguably the face of the contest is not attending again this year due to a dispute with the promoter. Takeru is holding his own hot dog eating contest on a Manhattan rooftop not far from the Nathan's competition. According to a live blog of the competition, Kobayashi ate 69 at his contest, which begs the question of who is the proper hot dog eating champion. Kobayashi's 69 hot dogs would be a world record. Will Kobayashi's new record stand if it is proven that he ate 69 hot dogs in the allotted 10 minutes?

Before the contest kicked off, ESPN revealed the results of their "Is Competitive Eating A Sport?" poll, with 81% of entrants saying "no."