Fingernails were the athletes’ ultimate accessory at the Paris Olympics, from patriotic polish to Greek goddesses

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It’s been a professional thrill for Kelly Phan to see her artistic creations at the Paris Olympics: the vibrant rhinestone-bedazzled fingernails worn by American sprinting sensation Sha’Carri Richardson.

Phan is a Vietnamese-born nail artist and salon owner in Florida who custom created four different sets of extravagantly painted long press-on nails for the U.S. track medalist, one of the most photographed athletes at the Summer Games.

The first, Richardson wore at the opening ceremonies, a patriotic red, white and blue square-tipped set with metallic decals and American flags painted on each middle finger. Others Richardson has worn on the track or the podium. They include a stone-studded black and neon set featured in one of the most iconic images from the Paris track, the magnetic sprinter at the start line holding a pointed finger to her face.

The Olympian suggested colours she would like for Paris, and Phan unleashed her artistry, sharing the sets of 10 tiny bejewelled creations, one for each finger, on Instagram. Richardson took them with her to the Games with a specialty glue that holds them in place, so she can switch them out as she likes.

“Sha’Carri loves fashion and always competes with style,” said Phan by video call from SNS Exclusive Salon in Orlando, receiving a little translation help from her salon manager, Jackie Pham. “So I put a lot of thought into the art design, so when Sha’Carri puts it on, she will feel good about herself, and it will express her personality.”

Olympians have long sported imaginative fingernails, most memorably the legendary U.S. sprint champion Florence Griffith Joyner and her lengthy emblazoned patriotic nails at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. But in Paris this summer, the world’s fashion capital, thousands of athletes across all sports have competed with Olympic manicures – everything from long gemstone-festooned artificial talons to short natural nails artistically painted with intricate flowers, flags or Olympic rings.

At the Paris Games, a manicure can seem as essential to the athlete’s uniform as the racing singlet, the swimsuit or the bike helmet. There’s even a beauty salon in the athlete’s village, which has been busy day and night since it opened on July 18.

The members of the Canadian women’s 4x100 relay team, fresh off setting a national record together on the track in Paris this week and making the final, showed off the high-polished patriotic red and white manicures they had done during their pre-Games training camp in Barcelona.

“Look good, feel good, run fast,” explained sprinter Jacqueline Madogo. “It’s something to do, and not just stay in our hotel and stress about the meet, but get together and keep ourselves busy.”

“As an athlete, we don’t get the time or opportunity often to look pretty, to go to galas and things,” added Audrey Leduc, the fastest Canadian female sprinter in more than 30 years. “So to do our nails, to have the colours of our flag, it’s nice.”

Team Great Britain runner Keely Hodgkinson, who won gold in the 800-metres in Paris, wore lavender nails painted with a white Greek goddess of victory, a collaboration with Nike. The runner worked with a London-based nail technician.

“I think they are really fitting with the purple track,” said Hodgkinson.

American sprinter Noah Lyles wore coloured nails in Paris. At one point, the men’s 100-metre gold medalist had the word “Icon” splashed across his nails. At another, he sported red, white and blue, with stars, cross and lightning bolt motifs.

“Feeling good about your appearance can give you a feeling of power over your opponent,” said Dr. Dana Sinclair, a performance psychologist working with some Canadian Olympians and author of Dialed In: Do Your Best When It Matters Most.

She says it’s not simply about what you project though: “It’s also for the self, for personal flair.”

Ariane Bonhomme is among the Canadian track cyclists who got theirs done at Cheeky Monkey Beauty Bar in Milton, Ont., before heading to the Games. Bonhomme had her tips done in the colours of the Olympic rings, with a red maple leaf painted on each ring finger.

Canadian beach volleyball player Sophie Bukovec had white and gold nails with PARIS spelled on her fingers. She and partner Heather Bansley got theirs done beforehand at their training camp in Hamburg, Germany.

“It’s a fun way to personalize and bring a little glam and feminine energy to the court,” said Bukovec.

Canadian gymnast Ellie Black got her manicure done in Paris, at the salon in the Olympic athletes’ village.

“I chose the French tips for a clean, classy, minimalist look but with a splash of glitz with the gold,” said Black. “The Olympic rings speak for themselves in honour of the Games. A little maple leaf for the pride I have for representing my country.”

The salon is a bustling spot with a steady flow of Olympians getting haircuts, blowouts, beard trims – all free. But the manicures, they pay for those – between 10 to 35 Euros depending on how intricate the request.

Laureen Menez is one of the salon’s freelance nail artists. She says the majority have been female athletes but they see one or two men per day. Some don’t want polish at all, just clean, manicured hands to compete.

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Menez, a Parisian, is surrounded by polishes, airbrushes and dozens of paintbrushes in all sizes. She pulls out the most commonly used of her tools, a brush so finely tipped you can barely see it. She uses it to scrawl the Olympic rings onto fingertips. She has also painted every flag imaginable. But each set of fingers is unique. Everyone athlete wants a signature touch.

Do the polished nails last through all those sporting endeavours? Do any athletes come back to touch up a chipped nail?

“No, it is good,” Menez says. “But now we have a lot of athletes coming back after their competition, who now goes on vacation. So they want to change the nails for that, to something more simple.”