Noah Lyles is the new 100-meter Olympic champion, the latest in a long line of sprinting superstars to claim the illustrious title.
He has also done so with some flair, painting his fingernails for the occasion — something he has been doing for a while.
His affinity for colorful nails harkens back to some other sprinting champions, though not necessarily amongst the men. Florence Griffith-Joyner still holds the decades-old world record in the 100-meter sprint, and her long colorful nails were part of her persona.
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American 100-meter champion Sha’Carri Richardson has followed FloJo’s style with fun, long fingernails.
Now Lyles has brought the growing American sprinter tradition to the men’s events.
Lyles isn’t done at the Paris Olympics. He will compete in the men’s 200-meter on Thursday, and then will also hit the track for the men’s 4×100-meter relay. There are rumblings that he may even run in the men’s 4×400-meter, but even for a superstar like Lyles, that seems like a long-shot.
At the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, Lyles had the inside track to gold starting down the stretch, but he couldn’t hold on and won bronze.
Now he hopes to win the double-gold that would cement his place in history. In the last 50 years, only two men have won both the 100-meter and 200-meter gold medals at the Olympics: Carl Lews in 1984, and the greatest sprinter of all time, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, in 2008, 2012 and 2016.
Lyles is just the latest male athlete to don painted fingernails. Philadelphia 76ers draftee Jared McCain painted his nails all season as a freshman guard for Duke and likely will do so in the NBA. Chicago Bears draftee and former USC quarterback Caleb Williams has done the same. Triston Casas may have started the trend in men’s pro sports in 2023 as a rookie with the Boston Red Sox.
Now Lyles has added his name as a superstar with painted fingernails. We’ll be watching over the next few days to see how bright his star can shine.
