NEW YORK: American world-record holders and pretenders to the crown of hot-dog chomper of the year weighed in for the hugely popular annual July 4 Coney Island competition set to draw thousands.

Seventeen men and 13 women are competing to see how many beef franks they can down in 10 minutes at Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest at the cheesy Brooklyn seaside resort on Friday. Come rain or shine — and thunderstorms are predicted overnight — organizers insist the contest will be held outdoors and watched by millions more when it broadcasts live on ESPN2.

Sonya “Black Widow” Thomas, 46, the reigning champion who chomped down 45 dogs in 2012 and 36.75 last year, faces a major threat from would-be usurper Miki Sudo, 28.

“I faced Sonya 10 times over the last year and a half, and beat her every single time,” Las Vegas’s Sudo said. “I hope to win, and (to) set a new record would be great! “Thomas, a skinny Korean-American who weighs 45 kilos, doesn’t just have one world record, she has 23.