Competitive eater Nick Wehry — husband of women’s champion Miki Sudo — is facing bombshell allegations stemming from this year’s hot dog eating contest… being accused of cheating to boost his bottom line.
This year’s fourth-place finisher was initially given a score of 46.75 tube steaks eaten at Thursday’s Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island… but after a recount, his total was changed to 51.75.
As we reported previously, Patrick Bertoletti won the Joey Chestnut-less output after swallowing 58 sausages.
The competition calculates final scores based on the number of clean plates in each competitor’s area after the 10-minute event — each empty plate equals five glizzys, and any leftovers are at the judges’ discretion.
O New York Post — citing two anonymous sources — claims that at some point after the competition ended, Wehry wandered onto the stage and picked up an opponent’s empty plate… and placed it on his own pile.
The outlet also claims that Wehry then demanded a recount…which pushed his tally past the 50-dog mark, a highly coveted level in the sport.
Wehry has vehemently denied the allegations…saying he “didn’t steal anything” and has not asked for the charge to be refiled.
Major League Eating, the contest’s governing body, released a statement to TMZ Sports …saying it conducted an investigation and reviewed video footage after becoming aware of the allegations.
“Like many other professional sports leagues, it is our policy not to overturn referees’ decisions after final results are tallied,” the MLE said… so it’s unclear whether the investigation found Wehry responsible for any wrongdoing.
As for the eater, he said he would accept the MLE’s decision to change his result if it found he did something wrong… adding that he wouldn’t want to receive a number he didn’t deserve.
“I would never cheat in a contest, no matter the reason,” Wehry said. “People who know me know that.”