The organizers of the July 4th hot dog-eating contest at Coney Island have agreed to make the prizes equal for the men's and women's categories after recently announcing that the newly created women's division would have a prize that was $15,000 less than the men's.
Nathan’s Famous confirmed Wednesday that the total prize money for the women’s division will be $20,000 – the same as the men’s.
Wayne Norbitz, president and COO of Nathan’s Famous, Inc. said the company was contacted by numerous people who demanded the prize money be the same.
“We listened to the input and we raised the women’s purse from $5,000 to $20,000,” he said.
According to George Shea, spokesman for Nathan’s Famous, there was no “stated reason” for the original disparity in prize money.
“I don’t think it was a conscious decision that women deserve less,” said Shea.
“The response was very strong with people saying that although there is disparity in sports like golf and basketball, Nathan’s Famous should rise above that and help change it,” said Shea.
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No woman has won the hot dog-eating contest since it began in 1916. This year marks the first that women will have their own division in the contest, and the competition is already heating up in the regional competitions.
In the qualifying round in Las Vegas, 110-pound rookie Stephanie Torres ate 23 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes, Shea said.
Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas of Alexandria, Va., is considered a favorite to win the women’s division event.
She is ranked number four in the world by Major League Eating and has a personal best of 41 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes.
Joey Chestnut currently holds the record for eating 68 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes.
