Intro:

The weigh-in for the 99th annual Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest took place in New York on Thursday (3rd July).

Script:

Sporting champions are often defined by skill, perseverance, poise and raw natural ability.

But the ability to gobble large quantaties of processed meat at phenomenal speeds - will be the only attribute worth having at the annual 4th of July hot dog eating contest in New York.

And such is the significance of the contest, the Mayor of New York city was in attendance at the weigh-in to highlight the competition's competitive nature -

SOUNDBITE: (English) Bill de Blasio, Mayor of New York City:

" This is an extraordinary event. And it's very, very competitive. It's highly competitive. People train all year. Some might say it's so competitive it's a dog eat dog atmosphere."

Seventeen men and thirteen women from around the U.S. and Canada will try to dethrone the reigning champions. Where the women's champion, Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas won by eating 36.75 hot dogs.

The 99th annual Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest will take place on Coney Island in Brooklyn on Friday.