EXCLUSIVE: Joey Chestnut addresses his place in sports GOAT debate with Tom Brady and Michael Jordan
Joey Chestnut is scheduled to attempt another eating world record on Memorial Day. He will be looking to break his own record in popcorn eating at Rural King in Indiana on Monday. This is one of more than 50 world records he currently holds in competitive eating.
While he is widely considered the GOAT in the competitive eating world, some argue that he belongs in the conversation across sports.
Chestnut sat down with Sportskeeda's Adam Hulse for an exclusive interview ahead of his record-setting attempt. When asked whether or not competitive eating should be defined as a sport, Chestnut said:
"It is, absolutely. I consider it a sport. It's something that has technique, there's talent involved, to a degree, but it's really about practice and figuring out my body and learning how to push my body to the absolute limit and making my body adapt. I can have good days and bad days, it's not simple.
"Some people get offended when I call it a sport, but those are also the same people who don't consider golf a sport, right? I remember years ago, people would really have that argument. Like, there's competition, there's work with the body, and when you really look at it, it's definitely a sport."
Joey Chestnut was then asked about his place among sports legends like LeBron James and Tom Brady.
"It's really hard to compare apples and oranges," he said. "I think Jordan and Brady, it'd be insulting to compare which one's better, right? It's either one of them. But I think, at least in my field of competitive eating, I can pretty confidently say I'm number one."
Joey Chestnut has his sights set on even more world records
Many are aware of Joey Chestnut being the greatest of all time in the iconic Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest, but his records extend beyond just hot dogs. He holds more than 50 world records and has shown no signs of slowing down.
Apart from attempting to break his popcorn-eating record on Memorial Day, he will stop in Syracuse to take a shot at the boneless chicken wings record before his annual hot dog competition on July 4.
It doesn't end there for Joey Chestnut. He stated that he thinks his records will someday be broken, as they often are in all sports. Until that happens, however, he will continue chasing new records, as well as improving his own, as he further cements his iconic legacy.