The Union Jack, stars, stripes and more! 24 shots of patriotic nail art on the fingers of Olympic athletes

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You’d have to be living under a rock to have not noticed the skyrocket rise in nail art popularity over the past few years. While Katy Perry and Rihanna were among the first celebrities to champion the trend, it’s has since snowballed into a genuine phenomenon, even engulfing this summer’s Olympic games in London.

From Great Britain to Australia an unprecedented amount of female Olympians have decked out their digits in designs expressing their national pride. If anything, it’s given the female competitors an edge over their male counterparts: while the women are able to flaunt their pride, sense of style and femininity via decorated nails, the men are generally limited to their uniforms (unless you’re into grills like Ryan Lochte, of course). It’s also a far chicer yet still temporary way of flaunting national pride. Goodbye been-there-done-that temporary tattoos, hello flag-printed nails!

Brands like P&G and CND have set up manicure stations near the athletes’ village to offer complimentary services—and as our photo gallery shows, many are taking advantage of the freebies. We’re obviously big fans of nail art here at FASHION (just check out our own take on an Olympic mani for proof), and what’s more, we love the fact that it’s giving the female competitors a unique way of bringing beauty and athleticism together. Here’s hoping the trend sticks around for future games!

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