Disqualified Nathan's hot dog competitor shares details
Disqualified Competitor's Account
Madison Barone, a 24-year-old competitive eater, was disqualified from the 2025 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest for vomiting after the competition concluded but before awards were presented. She maintains that the incident was involuntary and not a deliberate attempt to break the rules. Barone managed to eat nine hot dogs before the incident.
Rules and Reaction
Major League Eating rules state that any involuntary expulsion of food before prize giving leads to disqualification. The contest announcer, George Shea, stated that such an incident was unprecedented in his decades of involvement. Barone stated she felt no embarrassment.
Future Plans
Despite the disqualification, Barone plans to compete in the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest again next year, aiming for a comeback.
Madison Barone, disqualified at the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on Friday, July 4 because she couldn’t keep the food down, said she feels no embarrassment about what happened.
“Nope,’’ Barone, 24, told USA TODAY Sports three days after the contest in Coney Island, N.Y. “It was very discreet. All part of the sport.’’
Barone, who lives in Manville, New Jersey, was making her debut at the 2025 contest. Overshadowed by the likes of Joey Chestnut and women’s champion Miki Sudo, she still managed to gained notoriety for violating contest rules.
It started with her eating nine hot dogs and buns by the time the 10-minute contest ended. Then, before the top five finishers had been announced, she started to feel uncomfortable and found a trash can, according to Barone.
“As soon as I got off the stage and everything came up, it wasn't even like I was sick,’’ she said. “It was more of force. It was more of my body just letting it go.
“And I was like, 'Oh, man, everybody saw that. Now I'm disqualified.' ”
Indeed, she was.
"Ms. Barone experienced urges contrary to swallowing after the contest but before the conclusion of presentations and the awarding of places," Sam Barclay, director of operations at Major League Eating, told USA TODAY Sports. "By Major League Eating rules, urges contrary to swallowing before the conclusion of the event, including presentations and the awarding of prizes, results in a DQ."
George Shea, who has served as the contest announcer since 1991, said he was unaware of any such incident taking place at Nathan’s since then.
Barone, who was a wild-card entrant after finishing second at a qualifier, said she hopes to compete at Nathan’s next year.
“If I do,'' she said, "it's going to be the biggest comeback ever.’’
The biggest stories, every morning. Stay up-to-date on all the key sports developments by subscribing to USA TODAY Sports' newsletter.
Was this article displayed correctly? Not happy with what you see?
If you often open multiple tabs and struggle to keep track of them, Tabs Reminder is the solution you need. Tabs Reminder lets you set reminders for tabs so you can close them and get notified about them later. Never lose track of important tabs again with Tabs Reminder!
Try our Chrome extension today!
Share this article with your
friends and colleagues.
Earn points from views and
referrals who sign up.
Learn more
Save articles to reading lists
and access them on any device