Olympians are getting intricate nail designs to help performance

Nailed it!

The 2024 Paris Olympics have provided plenty of fashion moments, from leotards to shoes, but sometimes it’s the little things that really help give athletes the confidence to nail it at the competitions — like a manicure.

Competitors, including track and field star Sha’Carri Richardson and Olympic gold medalists Jordan Chiles and Suni Lee, are making sure their nails are at their best while going for gold.

With all these athletes wanting to make sure their manicures are in check during the Olympics, it should come as no surprise that there’s even a nail salon right there in the Olympic Village.

It may come as a surprise, however, that Olympians are getting long acrylic nails in the first place considering people in sports often keep their nails to the bare minimum for optimal performance.

Dr. Danielle Adams Norenberg, the head of psychology at the UK Sports Institute who works with Team Great Britain, told The Guardian that polished nails can actually give these athletes a leg up.

“I’m all for helping [athletes] figure out how they’re going to express themselves through their performance in a way that enhances their strengths and supports their methods,” Norenberg said.

The psychologist also pushes back on the idea that these intricate nails could potentially make competing more difficult.

“The athletes and the coaches themselves are considering their equipment to the absolute nth degree and they would not be taking a risk that would compromise their performance in that respect,” she explained. “It wouldn’t even be a consideration at this level.”

Richardson, the 24-year-old Team USA track and field star, won silver in the 100-meter final on Saturday while sporting long, pointed nails bejeweled and patterned with the US flag to represent her country.

Sophia Kinaya Haug, a nail artist who has worked with Richardson, told The Guardian that the athlete is “setting a new standard, saying you can express yourself and be bougie and beautiful on the track.”

“She did ask me to make [her nails] a little shorter because it was harder for her to tie her shoelaces,” Haug shared. “She knows her max.”

Another track and field Olympian from Team USA, Noah Lyles, had the word “icon” painted on his nails, with one letter on each finger.

Gymnasts Lee and Chiles also had their nails ready to go for their big competitions. For the Paris Olympics, Chiles’ had nails with a French tip with spots of blue and ride and a line of gold, while Lee wore $25 press-on nails that also gave her a French manicure.

Chiles, 23, recently spoke to the hosts of Vogue’s “The Run-Through” podcast, Chioma Nnadi and Chloe Malle, about how her long acrylic nails — which she had when she took home the bronze medal during the individual floor routine — actually help her with gymnastics.

“A girl never wants to break her nail or fall, so it makes me think of the right technique because I’m not trying to fall or break a nail,” Chiles shared in the episode. “My nails are too precious and too good-looking to be breaking.”

Lee, 21, opts for pre-applied and pre-polished gel nail extensions from KISS, and she relies on them so much that she’s now a brand ambassador for the brand’s Salon X-tend LED Soft Gel System.

“Being a gymnast requires me to move in a way that is flexible, weightless, and strong. I need the same traits when it comes to my manicure & Salon X-tend allows me to do that effortlessly, while also showcasing my individuality, wherever my meets take me,” she explained in a statement.

Isabelle Knevett, the fashion features editor of Women’s Health, told The Guardian that feeling more powerful after having your nails done all female fitness fans can identify with.

“Everybody can relate to the experience of putting on a new pair of trainers or maybe a new set, and then you go to the gym and you lift a bit harder or you run a bit faster. It’s that feeling.”