A massive cheating scandal has rocked the Major League Baseball food circuit in the wake of Nathan’s annual hot dog eating contest.
Nick Wehry, who finished fourth on July 4 and is the husband of women’s champion Miki Sudo, is being accused by two anonymous sources of cleverly stealing another competitor’s plates to inflate his own total. Wehry has denied the allegations.
“He cheated 100%,” said a source The New York Post.
During the competition, participants are served paper plates containing five hot dogs each. Totals are determined by counting the plates and subtracting any hot dogs remaining once time runs out.
Wehry was credited with 46.75 hot dogs on July 4, but that number increased to 51.75 on the Major League Eating (MLE) website. And as one of the two sources told the Post, “I can only assume (Wehry) demanded a recount after stealing the plate.”
Contestant Nick Wehry enters the 2024 Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating contest
Nick Wehry, who came in fourth, has denied allegations that he cheated on July 4.
The alleged cheating did not improve his position in the final results, as Wehry would have finished fourth anyway. However, it did push his total above the 50 franc threshold, which one source believes was the reason for the alleged duplicity.
“There are several people who have eaten 40 hot dogs at this competition before, there are far fewer who have eaten more than 50, and even fewer who have eaten more than 60,” a source told The Post.
‘If someone is on record as having eaten more than 50, that makes them part of a very small elite club of competitive eaters.’
Interestingly, Wehry’s wife, Miki Sudo, devoured 51 hot dogs in 10 minutes to set a women’s world record at Coney Island last week.
Wehry, for his part, told the Post that he “didn’t steal anything” and denies having “demanded a recount.”
“If the MLE determines that I was counted wrong, then fix my number. My position did not change if that was the case. I would never want to take a position or number that I did not deserve,” Wehry told the Post via text message.
“I would never cheat on a pageant, no matter the reason,” he added. “People who know me know that.”
Video of the competition shows Wehry (center) holding a paper plate while standing on stage.
Nick Wehry and Miki Sudo stare at each other during a weigh-in before the July 4 event
In the video of the incident, Wehry is seen wandering around the table and holding a plate while talking to his closest rival. However, no conclusions can be drawn from the YouTube video.
“I guess you can see from the video that I was given the wrong license plate,” Wehry told the Post. “I’m really sorry if that’s the case.”
Sudo defended her husband in a phone call with the Post.
“I was watching Nick the whole time, there was a camera on him the whole time, there was no way the judges could get it wrong,” she said before abruptly hanging up.
MLE has since released a vague statement saying the organization investigated the allegations, but offered little else.
“The MLE investigated, carefully considered the complaint and reviewed the video provided to us,” reads the statement sent to the Post. “Like many other professional sports leagues, it is our policy not to overturn the decisions of officials after the final results have been recorded.”