by Melissa A. Chadwick | Staff Writer
There’s nothing like some french fries to snack on after downing a plate of hot dogs.
Several plates of hot dogs, that is.
Juliet Lee, 41, of Germantown reached for some fries after eating 26 hot dogs in 12 minutes last week at Nathan’s Famous July Fourth International Hot Dog Eating Contest, hosted at the historic Coney Island establishment.
Lee was hungry. The 26 hot dogs and buns she had just eaten two-at-a-time and in rapid succession didn’t fill up the 107-pound woman’s tummy.
‘‘Nathan’s had french fries, so I had some french fries,” she explained Friday. ‘‘You eat so fast you don’t even taste the food. I didn’t eat enough to get sick.”
She came in 10th place of the 17 competitors at last week’s competition, which was broadcast live on ESPN. First place went to Joey Chestnut of California, who chomped on 66 hot dogs and broke Nathan’s record of 53.75 dogs in 12 minutes. He also ended the run of six-time champion Takeru Kobayashi of Japan, who, despite jaw pain, ate 63 hot dogs and buns.
In all, 576.5 hot dogs were consumed during the competition, which attracted 50,000 spectators, according to the International Federation of Competitive Eaters, which is based in New York City.
Lee was the only rookie at last week’s event. Her goal was 30 dogs, Lee said.
‘‘Some people had signs for me to support me,” Lee said. ‘‘Never did I see that many people saying my name.”
Her attraction to competitive eating started last year when she learned of the sport and thought ‘‘I can do that.”
In August, she registered for her first amateur contest — hosted by Three Brothers Pizza in Greenbelt — and ate 11 slices in 10 minutes. She took home first place as an amateur and earned free pizza for a year.
‘‘She’s had the most auspicious beginning for a professional eater, like, ever,” said Ryan Nerz, a spokesman for the competitive eaters federation.
After the pizza competition, Lee quickly moved on to other foods: meatballs in Atlanta (5.53 pounds in 10 minutes – seventh place); Chock Full of Nuts bread in New York City (13 date nut bread and cream cheese sandwiches — fifth place) and chili cheese fries in Long Beach, Calif. (4.54 pounds in 10 minutes — fifth place). A competition at Myrtle Beach, S.C., sent participants to five different food stations (second), then the two qualifying matches for Nathan’s (26 and 28 hot dogs, respectively) and finally a shoo-fly pie in Lancaster, Pa., (6.66 pounds in 8 minutes — fifth place).
‘‘Nobody thinks I’m crazy yet,” said Lee, who lives with her husband and two daughters, ages 11 and 13. ‘‘They say ‘It’s so neat, you’re amazing, how can you do that?’”
One secret could be that she eats just once a day. The night owl generally doesn’t eat breakfast and holds out until dinner for a larger meal, typically Chinese food, but sometimes pork chops or steak, she explained.
She’s one of two women who have really made a mark on the sport, Nerz said.
Sonya ‘‘The Black Widow” Thomas, of Alexandria, Va., started on the competitive eaters circuit in 2003. She also eats one meal per day.
‘‘There’s good reasons why women might feel a little squeamish about doing such a graphic looking sport,” Nerz said. ‘‘It’s interesting that the two women who have broken in are tiny, dainty, very feminine women.”
There are 9,000 competitive eaters in the federation’s database. About 200 of them ‘‘actively check out competitions. Fifty to 75 are on the circuit, traveling to different places and 50 are ranked,” he said.
Germantown’s Lee ranked 37th before last week’s competition. She is expected to move up when the new rankings are announced later this week, Nerz said.
Lee tasted her first Nathan’s hot dog this year when she participated in the first qualifying tournament. She ate 28 hot dogs, losing by half a frankfurter.
That is the most anyone has ever eaten as a first-time qualifier for Nathan’s, Nerz said.
‘‘It’s just absurd considering that she’s brand new, tiny and female,” he said. ‘‘Not to be sexist or anything, but she doesn’t look the part.”
Though Lee fell short of her goal of 30 dogs, she has a pretty good excuse.
‘‘I could have eaten more, but I had root canal on Monday,” Lee said. ‘‘It was not good timing.”
Is there any eating contest she wouldn’t compete in?
‘‘Corn on the cob,” Lee said without hesitation
