LOCALIZE IT: Hot dog eating champs will duke it out July 4. Contestants hail from 17 states

EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS:

Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July hot dog-eating contest is Friday. The yearly bun fight, which dates back to 1972, sees large crowds of fans in foam hot-dog hats gather in front of the original Nathan’s Famous’ restaurant in Coney Island, Brooklyn, to cheer on the competitors as they chow down. The contestants are allowed to dunk the dogs in cups of water to soften them up, creating a stomach-churning spectacle.

This year the hot dog eating world record-holder Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, is back at the competition after he skipped last year’s event over a contract dispute.

Chestnut is expected to dominate the men’s competition in what will be his twentieth appearance. He’s won 16 titles and holds the world record of eating 76 hot dogs.

Last year, Patrick Bertoletti, of Chicago gobbled up a gut-wrenching 58 at the competition in Coney Island, in 10 minutes, earning the men’s title. Defending champion Miki Sudo won her 10th title in the women’s division, downing a record 51 links.

That same day Chestnut ate 57 dogs — in only five minutes — in an exhibition with soldiers, in El Paso, Texas.

___

READ AP’S LATEST COVERAGE

Joey ‘Jaws’ Chestnut to return to Coney Island hotdog eating contest after contract dispute

___

HOW TO WATCH

If you can’t make it to Coney Island, ESPN will be airing and streaming the competition. Coverage of the women’s competition begins at 10:45 a.m. ET on ESPN2. The men’s competition airs at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN2, with re-airs at 5 p.m. ET and 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.

___

FIND YOUR STATE: CONTENSTANTS BASED NEAR YOU

Use this spreadsheet to view names and locations for contestants based in the U.S. and elsewhere.

States included in the list above are:

Arizona

California

Connecticut

Florida

Georgia

Illinois

Kansas

Louisiana

Indiana

Massachusetts

Nevada

New Jersey

New York

Ohio

Pennsylvania

Texas

Washington

Countries included in the list above include:

Australia

Brazil

Czech Republic

England

Canada

___

Localize It is a reporting resource produced by The Associated Press for its customers’ use. Questions can be directed to the Local News Success team at localizeit@ap.org.