Mom-Daughter Duo Competing In Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest
A mother and daughter duo will be competing against each other at this year’s Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest. René Rovtar, 62, and her daughter, Kristina Rovtar Dunne, 33, are both participating in the iconic event, happening Sunday on Coney Island.
This will be René’s fifth year competing since she first qualified in 2017 by eating eight hot dogs. “I had seen young women compete and I said to my family, ‘Four hot dogs? I could eat four hot dogs.’’ Since then, the New Jersey mother has worked on perfecting her technique, which is to eat the dogs solo and dip the bun in liquid to make it easier to scarf down. This year, her goal is to finish 10 hot dogs.
Kristina’s personal best is six and a half hot dogs and this year, she’s hoping to finish eight. “My mom and I are the best of friends. My mom did it for the first time in 2017 and we watched her compete and I was like, ‘I think I can do that,’” explains Kristina, a high school art teacher. “We’re not going to win the competition and we know that, but it’s something fun.”