With the clock stopped and the last bites swallowed, the 10 contestants stood proudly — if not queasily — on stage in Rousakis Plaza, remnants of hot dogs on the table below.
The crowd packed around the stage cheered as the victors of the River Street chow-down were awarded their trophies and tickets to New York’s Coney Island to compete in the Nathan’s Famous July Fourth International Hot Dog Eating Contest.
Click here to view a Spotted® photo gallery of the event.
With 25 hot dogs and buns downed in just 10 minutes, Pete “Pretty Boy” Davekos clearly won the day.
The professional eater from Boston munched his way through the competition at a steady pace.
The female victor, Dee “Pi Gal” Martin of Roopville, a small Carroll County town, earned her ticket to Coney Island after putting away eight and a half hot dogs.
“I’m excited that I get to go to Coney and do this all over again with some of the best,” the 37-year-old, who has been competing since 2011, said after the event. “I feel full.”
Though its champions were from out of town, Saturday’s eat-off had a few local contestants, too.
Eliciting plenty of cheers from the crowd were two Savannah Derby Devils, Elizabeth “Maggie Kill’NBrawl” Vinson and Diedre “Fractious Phoebe” Schofield. Derby teammates and friends came out to cheer them on, holding signs that read “Maggie Eat’Em’All” and “Fractious FeedMe.”
“I think I ate four,” Vinson said. “It’s pretty rough. They make it look so easy.”
Watching competitive eating on TV made her want to try what she called a “once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Schofield, who ate two and a half hot dogs, had different inspirations for competing.
“Why not? Bucket list,” she said. “I don’t know anyone else who’s done this.”
One of the youngest members of the audience was 7-month-old Jameson Schlabs of Pooler, who had his picture made atop the contest table once all the food was cleared. His parents and uncle brought him and his 22-month-old sister to watch the competition.
“He’s actually supposed to be napping,” said his mother, Kristin Schlabs. “But he was all excited and paying attention and moving his arms around.”
ON THE WEB
Go to savannahnow.com to watch video from Saturday’s hot dog eating contest on River Street. For more photos from the event, go to spotted.savannahnow.com.