An American guzzled 66 hot-dogs in 12 minutes to reclaim the Independence Day title from the slim Japanese who has dominated the sport for the last six years.

Joey Chestnut snatched victory by just three hot-dogs at the 92nd annual Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York’s Coney Island, beating long-time champion Takeru Kobayashi of Japan.

The two stood jaw-to-jaw as they munched down hot-dogs along with 15 other contestants. The result was so close that the judges reviewed the videotape before declaring the final decision.

Mr Kobayashi appeared to vomit at the very end of the competition, which would have caused a disqualification, but the judges allowed his total of 63 to stand.

“I knew going into the contest he was going to give it 100 percent. I had to come in harder than my body could handle,” Mr Chestnut said.

Despite shattering the previous record in a final, the Californian said: “If I needed to eat another one right now, I could.” The six-time Japanese title-holder decided to take part in the contest despite complaining of a jaw ailment in recent weeks that prevented him from opening his mouth wide enough for a routine teeth cleaning.

Event organizers said he had a wisdom tooth extracted last week to relive what they described as “jaw-thritis.” “I’m like a child,” he said before the competition. “I just don’t give up.” The jaw problems appeared to have little impact on the Japanese, who gave the best performance of his career.

The diminutive Mr Kobayashi, 29, who has dominated competitive eating, weighed in at 154 pounds. Mr Chestnut, 23, came in at 215 pounds.

This year’s contest was a highly anticipated showdown between the Japanese master and his American challenger, who set a new world record of 59 ½ in a qualifying round.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg introduced the two arch-rivals before the weigh-in on the steps of City Hall.

“Many times in the annals of sport, the eyes of the world have turned to our great city to watch worthy adversaries square off,” Mr Bloomberg said, tongue in cheek. “What comes to mind is Ali and Frazier, the Yankees and the Mets.”

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