William Price Sets a New World Record During 3rd Annual Dole Peel-and-Eat Banana-Contest at Great American Banana Split Celebration; William Goldfield Comments

CHARLOTTE, NC - Boswell, Pa., resident William “Will” Price was crowned winner of the 3rd Annual Dole Great American Banana Challenge after peeling and eating an event-best 12 bananas in the 125-second competition on Aug. 22, displacing two-time winner Leo Sun, who held the previous record of 11 ½ bananas.

Leo Sun of Latrobe, Pa., won the first two years of the Challenge, which is one of the signature events of the Great American Banana Split Celebration, an annual three-day festival in Latrobe marking the invention of the iconic dessert in 1904. Dole Food Company created the peel-and-eat contest in 2024 to honor its 125th year in the banana business and has committed to sponsoring the competition through at least 2027.

According to Banana Challenge rules, the banana fan who peels and eats the most DOLE® Bananas on the Robindale Main Stage of the Great American Banana Split Celebration receives the Dole Banana Challenge Championship Belt, created by Latrobe-based Wildcat Championship Belts, Dole, and event organizers exclusively for the competition.

Price, 40, said that he told his girlfriend before Saturday that he would propose to her if he won the contest.

The Great American Banana Split Celebration has been an annual destination for banana and dessert fans since 2013, when the Pennsylvania Historical Society unveiled a marker at the downtown Latrobe site where the banana split was invented. Dole helped organize the inaugural celebration in conjunction with Aug. 25’s designation as National Banana Split Day, and sent Bobby Banana, the company’s 7-foot mascot and healthy-eating ambassador, as representative.

“Dole Food Company is proud to have been part of the Great American Banana Split Celebration from the very beginning, and to watch it grow from a small regional event into a weekend destination that now draws thousands of banana fans every year,” said William Goldfield, Dole’s director of communications, in the recent release. “The team behind DOLE® Bananas congratulates William Price for not only taking home the Dole Banana Challenge Championship Belt in 2026 but setting a world record in the process.”

Banana split lovers wanting to celebrate with a more wholesome version of the famous dessert are directed to Dole’s Berry Banana Splitz and Honey Pomegranate Banana Split recipes, and to a how-to blog post by Melanie Marcus, MA, RD, Dole’s health, wellness, and communications manager.

This year, Dole is also spotlighting its Pineapple Dole Whip® Sundae, a new recipe created for last month’s Dole Whip Day that combines the iconic Banana Split with the best of a Dole Whip®.