Nails and hair on fleek: Olympic athletes’ style worthy of a gold medal
Painted nails are all the rage among female athletes, including gymnastics superstar Simone Biles
Photo: Getty Images/Laurence Griffiths
To compete at the Olympic Games is every athlete’s dream. And when this greatest of career moments arrives, it isn’t just the physical and technical preparation that is important, your appearance needs to be on point too. We're talking carefully coiffed hairstyles, tattoos with the Olympic rings, which have become an unofficial accreditation for athletes. Olympic customisation can even be seen on athlete’s nails.
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Artist gymnastics phenomenon Simone Biles, who already has two gold medals under her belt at her first Olympic Games, arrived to compete with the colours of the stars and stripes not just on her leotard but also on her nails, with no amount of glitter spared.
Photo: Elsa/Getty Images
British swimmer Eleanor Faulkner helped her team-mate Aimee Willmott with her nail decoration. And it looks like it brought her good luck: Willmott reached the final of the 400m medley.
Australia’s Genevieve Lacaze will be hoping for the same kind of luck in the 3000m steeplechase and the 5000m. This athlete can be seen sporting the colours and symbols of Rio 2016 and Australia on her nails.
The host-country’s athletes have also made sure they’re representing on home soil too. Lara Teixeira of Brazil turned up at the Olympic Village with these special shades.
She is also one of the many athletes who bear their Olympic status on their skin.
US swimmer Ryan Lochte has also chosen to commemorate his Olympic experience this way. The 12-time medallist, who achieved his latest medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay at Rio 2016, shows off his rings on his right arm.
Frenchman Earvin Ngapeth opted for a stylized haircut with an innovative twist, substituting the Olympic rings for volleyballs.
Frenchwoman Audrey Tcheumeo, the judoka who knocked-out home favourite Mayra Aguiar in the semi-final of the -78kg category, winning the silver medal, went for a more traditional style, but no less eye-catching.
