Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest delayed 2 hours, will start at 2 p.m. after Joey Chestnut rallied people

2:30 p.m. update: Joey Chestnut has done it again. The contest started at approximately 2:20 p.m. and Chestnut cruised to victory. He fell well short of his record, but it was a dominating performance against his competition. He finished with 62 hot dogs and buns, Geoff Esper finished second with 49, and James Webb finished third with 47.

1:51 p.m. update: The contest is set to get going at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

1:45 p.m. update: The contest is still in a delay and might still happen. There are reports it was canceled, but Joey Chestnut seems determined to make the contest happen. The 2020 contest took place at an undisclosed indoor location due to COVID-19, so an indoor competition could still be a possibility.

1 p.m. update: The 2023 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest was canceled before the men’s event on Tuesday, according to ABC 7 New York.

The 2023 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest is in a weather delay due to lightning.

Unlike things like the NFL or college baseball, there are no hard and fast rules as to how long we’ll have to wait until we get the buns in the air after yet another bolt from the sky. But it appears to be pouring on Coney Island as of now, so it might be awhile until the gluttons take to the stage.

Introductions of the “athletes” were scheduled to begin at 12:00 p.m., but we’ll post any updates we see as to when the competition will start here.