Sports will be the primary focus of the 2024 Paris Olympics, from the opening ceremony on Friday, July 26, through the final competition on Sunday, August 11. All participating athletes have dedicated their lives to competing. However, in the run-up to this year's Olympics, there has been almost as much excitement about nail trends for 2024 and beauty regimens endorsed by the potential gold medalists.

While their skincare and makeup alone is noteworthy, with sponsorships like Rihanna's Fenty Beauty and Glossier, the personal touches sportswomen put on their manicures are especially meaningful. Celebrity nail artist Gina Edwards says the Olympics are a global stage where athletes showcase their style and skills. Athletes are not only strong, they are also beautiful.”

There is precedent for symbolism-filled, detailed Olympic nail art. Sunisa Lee made headlines during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when she applied the famous five rings to her nude nails. After this viral manicure, Lee was asked numerous times about nail art, and repeatedly revealed that it was a way to show off her personality on the mat. Fellow gymnast Jordan Childs also made headlines for her extra-long acrylics, which, according to the Associated Press recently, not only aid technique but also serve as her unique “one-little touch.”

Of course, there are rules to follow. Gymnasts must wear neutral-colored clothing, and volleyball players must cut their nails short. Still, athletes have found ways to make manicures an expression of self, a sign of patriotism, respect for country, or all of the above.

As athletes descend on Paris and appear on television screens around the world, we zoom in on their nails, and here are some of the nail art designs for the 2024 Paris Olympics from competitors in all sports.

If you follow track and field athlete Shacharie Richardson, you know that miles of coffin-shaped acrylics are her trademark. She says, “Every time I get on the track, I'm going to show off my long nails and different hair colors. ...... As long as my community loves it, I'll bring it every time,” she said in an interview with ESPY in 2021. [And on June 22, she won gold in the women's 100-meter final on the second day of the Olympic track and field trials in Eugene, Oregon. Richardson may apply the same intricate nail art to the 100-meter run preliminaries on August 2. Her playful color combinations and diamond embellishments are worth a second look.

With manicures to be seen around the world in 2020, Lee has remarkable hands. Her manicure with the iconic Olympic logo also led to a new partnership with KISS. I'm obsessed with nails,” she says. Being a gymnast requires flexibility, weightlessness, and powerful movements. The same is true for manicures. Salon X-tend makes it effortless for me to do that while still showing off my personality, no matter where I meet.”

Her latest meeting took place in Paris, where she apparently wore a press-on before boarding the plane.

With the Olympics taking place in Paris, it's no surprise that Biles opted for a French-inspired manicure; on TikTok, the gymnast gave her 1.5 million followers a glimpse into her beauty preparations for the big event. Naturally, she visited a nail salon and changed her red French manicure to a more classic color. But she added her own flair to the set by placing a gemstone at the base of each nail.

The 2024 Paris Olympics will not be the first time Childs has represented the United States. She also participated in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, bringing home a silver medal along with a manicure.

In a recent interview with the Associated Press, Childs said, “People always ask me how I do gymnastics with such long nails.

Her manicure is a very appropriate French (which happens to be one of the biggest nail trends for summer 2024), adorned with white and blue tips in honor of Team USA.