Marleen van Iersel of the Netherlands gestures to her teammate during the women’s beach volleyball qualifying match between the Netherlands and Costa Rica at the Beach Volley Arena in Rio de Janeiro on August 8, 2016 © Leon Neal / AFP

Leading the way was Serena Williams, who has long championed bold style choices on court. The US tennis legend sported a miniature American flag on her forefinger during her women’s third-round singles tennis match against Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina last week, emphasizing the point with a US-themed scrunchie and a red headband.

Switzerland’s Isabelle Forrer matched her nails to her red costume during the women’s beach volleyball qualifying match between Switzerland and Australia, adding a striking white cross to her ring fingers in a replica of the Swiss flag, as a reminder of her fighting spirit.

Canada’s Jamie Lynn Broder © Leon Neal / AFP

Manika Batra made sure that all those close-up shots of her serving in her women’s singles qualification round table tennis match featured the Indian flag, thanks to her colourful and eye-catching nail design, while Canadian Jamie Lynn Broder opted for an artistic, abstract style for the women’s beach volleyball qualifying match between Germany and Canada, featuring a cute maple leaf print in pillar-box red on a white background.

USA’s Katie Ledecky © Gabriel Bouys / AFP

Gold medallist Katie Ledecky displayed her pride at swimming the 800m freestyle for team USA with a manicure that alternated red, blue, and white stripes. And finally, Marleen van Iersel managed to honour both her home country of the Netherlands and nod to the spirit of the games during the women’s beach volleyball qualifying match between the Netherlands and Costa Rica, with nail art alternating the Dutch flag and the iconic five rings logo of the tournament. Team spirit? Nailed it.