Meet Miki Sudo and Nick Wehry, the Coolest Competitive-Eating Couple Around
In 2020, on the Fourth of July, Miki Sudo and Nick Wehry combined to devour 88 hot dogs. It happened to take place in front of a national television audience as both took part in the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. The two met at a hotel gym in 2018, and it’s been love at first bite ever since. Sudo had been crowned the women’s champion of Nathan’s contest each year since 2014, while Wehry took third place in 2019 in the men’s division. For the engaged couple, there’s more to life than just eating hot dogs.
Miki Sudo is an eight-time champ of Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest
Sudo and Joey Chestnut are on a roll. Sudo won the women’s division of the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest for seven straight years. In 2020, she finished 48.5 hot dogs (and buns) in 10 minutes, setting a new women’s record. She is the top-ranked female competitive eater (and third overall) by Major League Eating. Chestnut has won the last seven titles in the men’s division and 15 overall.
The best part of the rankings is that fourth overall is Wehry, Sudo’s fiancee. After missing the 2021 event because she was expecting the couple’s first child, Sudo returned to action in 2022 and crushed it again. She devoured 40 hot dogs and won her eighth title.
Although she didn’t compete in 2021, she was still part of the contest. She was in the ESPN booth doing some commentary. she was also cheering on Wehry, who remained in the competition.
“People have mixed feelings about him taking part, but I absolutely think he should,” Sudo told Sportscasting in 2021. “I’m so happy he is. I’ll be there to cheer him on.”
Nick Wehry knows who he’s going against in Joey Chestnut
With Chestnut in the way, it usually means a battle for second place in the men’s division. Wehr doesn’t look at it like that. He knows Chestnut typically crushes the competition, but that doesn’t mean he won’t go into the event with the mindset he can pull off the upset.
“I go there to win,” Wehry told Sportscasting. “Every contest I enter, I want to win. I don’t care if you’re my grandmother or Joey Chestnut. I want to beat you.”
In 2020, Wehry finished with his Nathan’s personal best 39.5 hot dogs, finishing behind Darron Breeden’s 42. Chestnut finished with a world record 75, retaining the Mustard Belt.
Wehry entered competitive eating in 2017 after 11 years of competitive bodybuilding. Despite pounding 39 hot dogs at a time, along with taking part in other various eating contests, Wehry, along with Sudo, remains in great shape. He’s still in the gym five days a week.
“I’m 40 pounds lighter now,” Wehry said then, comparing himself to his bodybuilding days.
Miki Sudo and Nick Wehry are meant to be together
When they’re not competing, Wehry said he and Sudo eat a lot of “boring foods” such as kale and broccoli. When asked if they were healthy eaters, Sudo said she wouldn’t go that far. “Well, I have the world record for ice cream, and Nick has the world record for hard-boiled eggs,” she said.
The hard-boiled egg story is a good one. On April 25, 2021, Wehry made his mark by eating 50 hard-boiled eggs in 3:02 for his world record. When it was over, he got down on one knee and proposed to Sudo. The two are clearly meant to be together.
They met at a hotel gym back in 2018. Nick was working out and had a photographer with him as he was doing a photoshoot.
“(Sudo) approached me and asked if she could take a picture with me,” he said. “She had won four titles so I knew who she was. We stayed in touch. Seven months later, we were in a pretzel-eating contest and I think I wowed her with my pretzel-eating ability.”
So what does it feel like physically after a day of taking part in Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest?
“It’s pretty rough,” Wehry said. “I’d probably liken it to how people feel after Thanksgiving dinner.”
