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‘Bougie and beautiful on the track’: nails complete the look at the Olympics

Sports psychologists – and nail artists – say expressing themselves can help some athletes perform better

However, Dr Danielle Adams Norenberg, the head of psychology at the UK Sports Institute, who works with Team GB, says they can actually give an edge: “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.” Photograph: Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/Getty ImagesOver a career that began in the late noughties, the US hurdler Queen Harrison Claye became known for her style, which featured long nails, elaborate hairstyles and even blue lipstick. “As a young Black girl, who’s familiar with the click-clackity of the beads [in hairstyles], when [I saw that] in a mainstream light, especially in a sport that I didn’t see representation of me or people that look like me, it was gamechanger.”

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