<P> The winner of the men's competition is given possession of the coveted international "bejeweled" mustard - yellow belt . The belt is of "unknown age and value" according to IFOCE co-founder George Shea and rests in the country of its owner . In 2011, Sonya Thomas won the inaugural women's competition and its "bejeweled" pink belt . </P> <P> Various other prizes have been awarded over the years . For example, in 2004 Orbitz donated a travel package to the winner . Starting in 2007, cash prizes have been awarded to the top finishers . </P> <P> The Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest has been held at the original location on Coney Island most years since about 1972, usually in conjunction with Independence Day . Nathan's promoter Mortimer Matz claimed that on July 4, 1916, four immigrants held a hot dog eating contest at Nathan's Famous stand on Coney Island to settle an argument about who was the most patriotic . He also made the spurious claim that the contest has been held each year since then except 1941 ("as a protest to the war in Europe") and 1971 (as a protest to political unrest in the U.S.). A man by the name of Jim Mullen is said to have won the first contest, although accounts vary . One account describes Jimmy Durante (who was not an immigrant) as competing in that all - immigrant inaugural contest, which was judged by Eddie Cantor and Sophie Tucker . Another describes the event as beginning "in 1917, and pitted Mae West's father, Jack, against entertainer Eddie Cantor ." In 2010, however, promoter Mortimer "Morty" Matz admitted to having fabricated the legend of the 1916 start date with a man named Max Rosey in the early 1970s as part of a publicity stunt . The legend grew over the years, to the point where The New York Times and other publications were known to have repeatedly listed 1916 as the inaugural year, although no evidence of the contest exists . As Coney Island is often linked with recreational activities of the summer season, several early contests were held on other holidays associated with summer besides Independence Day; Memorial Day contests were scheduled for 1972, 1975, and 1978, and a second 1972 event was held on Labor Day . </P> <P> In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the competition was dominated by Japanese contestants, particularly Takeru Kobayashi, who won six consecutive contests from 2001 - 2006 . In 2001, Kobayashi transformed the competition and the world of competitive eating by downing 50 hot dogs--smashing the previous record of 25.5 . The Japanese eater introduced advanced eating and training techniques that shattered previous competitive eating world records . The rise in popularity of the event coincided with the surge in popularity of the worldwide competitive eating circuit . </P>

When was the first hot dog eating contest
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