NEW YORK (AFP) - American Joey Chestnut choked down five frankfurters in a tense two-man eat-off to defeat legendary Japanese eater Takeru Kobayashi for the second year running in the annual hot dog eating contest at Coney Island Friday.

Wiping his sleeve over his food-caked face, Chestnut claimed the victory in the tiebreaker after he and Kobayashi tied in the first round, both downing 59 hot dogs in 10 minutes.

Californian Chestnut, 24, who weighed in at 102 kilograms (225 pounds), dominated the first round from the outset, but six-time champ Kobayashi chowed his way back in the last minutes to tie the incumbent at the final bite.

The organizers of the televised event, which according to legend first took place 92 years ago at the Nathan's hot dog stand on Coney Island, then set the rare eat-off, where Chestnut kept his hold on the champion's "Mustard Belt."

"I lost because I wasn't quick enough in the rematch," said the much smaller Kobayashi, 30, who held the belt from 2001 to 2006.

In 2007, Kobayashi came to the tournament after suffering jaw problems, and Chestnut went on to win with a world record 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes.

This year the tournament changed the time limit to 10 minutes, based on the information that the first contest in 1916 was also 10 minutes.

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