A competitive eater in Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog eating competition has crumbled under the weight of a cheating scandal and has requested his score be reverted to its original value, the Post can reveal exclusively.
Nick Wehry, husband of women’s division champion and pink mustard belt holder Miki Sudo, was accused of using sleight of hand trickery to beef up his tally at the July 4th competition and place himself among the sport’s most elite competitors.
“I am distressed over the accusations of cheating that have surfaced and I reiterate that I did not cheat in this event,” Wehry said. “However, because I did touch another eater’s plates and because this gives the appearance or possibility of impropriety I have asked Major League Eating to adjust my score down to a count of 46.75 hot dogs and buns. I’m truly sorry for raising any questions over the results of the event.”
On competition day at Coney Island, Wehry devoured a respectable 46.75 dogs in the 10-minutes allotted. But his official score was later juiced to 51.75 on the official Major League Eating website standings.
A source closely involved with the competition told The Post that eating 50 hot dogs is seen as a high water mark separating everyday contenders from the top-tier eaters. Although the allegedly inflated score did not improve Wehry’s standings, it bumped up his official score from 46.75 to 51.75, placing him among the sport’s crème de la crème.
The sources claim Wehry shifted empty plates around on the competition table after time was up in order to place more on his stack. Judges count 5 hot dogs per plate when conducting their official tally, so the addition of a single extra plate would be enough to bump up his score into the elite tier.
On Wednesday afternoon, Wehry’s official score was scaled down to 46.75 the MLE website, the tally recorded on the day of the contest by ESPN and The Post
