Student, 20, dies after hot-dog eating competition

A student-athlete has died after choking during a hot dog eating contest.

Madelyn “Madie” Nicpon, 20, a lacrosse player and biopsychology major at Tufts University, fell unconscious at an off-campus fundraiser on Saturday, October 16.

The hot dog eating contest was part of the “Play for Pink” breast cancer research fundraiser, which was widely attended by Tufts student-athletes. Nicpon was rushed to Massachussetts General Hospital, where she tragically passed away the next day.

Around 3,000 students attended an on-campus candlelight vigil for her that took place Sunday evening.

“We are heartbroken over the loss of Madie Nicpon — a member of Tufts Lacrosse and an incredible person that reached every corner of the Tufts University Community,” read a statement from the Tufts Lacrosse team. “Madie will be remembered as a bright light, a social butterfly, an amazing teammate, a kind and generous person, a wonderful sister and daughter and a Jumbo that we can all aspire to emulate. She will be missed every day.”

A second posts from Tufts Lacrosse describes Nicpon, nicknamed ‘Scooter’, as a true friend and teammate:“She truly valued her relationships with her teammates and coaches. Her reach was far beyond our team — she was a true connector on campus and touched every single person she met.”

Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter

The post continued: “She has and will continue to inspire us every day. We should all strive to live life a little bit more like Scooter did — a person that valued love, loyalty, compassion and friendship.”

A GoFundMe page, started by a family friend on behalf of Nicpon’s family, has raised nearly $160,000 for medical and funeral expenses.

Services for the Rockland County native will be held in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey on Friday and Saturday.