115-lb woman wins Illinois hot dog eating contest

BLOOMINGDALE, Ill. (AP) — Michelle Lesco is petite, but the 115-pound competitive eater still managed to gobble down more than 28 hot dogs — and buns — to win an eating contest in suburban Chicago.

The (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald reports (http://bit.ly/1mFPOWX ) the Arizona native won Saturday’s qualifiers for the July 4 hot dog-eating contest at New York’s Coney Island.

The competition in Bloomingdale, about 20 miles from Chicago, was one more than a dozen preliminary rounds before the main event. Eight people faced off to see who could eat the most hot dogs in 10 minutes.

Lesco set a new Illinois record and beat Eric “Badlands” Booker, who gobbled more than 27 hot dogs. He weighs about four times that of Lesco.

After winning, Lesco said: “I can’t wait to burp.”

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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