Olympic Legend Florence ‘Flo-Jo’ Joyner’s Iconoclast Outfits and Style on the Track: From 6-inch Nails to ‘One-Legger’ Bodysuits and More

Florence “Flo-Jo” Griffith Joyner was a decorated American Olympian , track and field star and style icon. Joyner’s influence on and off the field continues to inspire athletes even decades after her death at the age of 38 in 1998.

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“Dress good to look good. Look good to feel good. And feel good to run fast,” was a motto the athlete lived by throughout her athletic career — which included three Olympic gold medals from the summer 1988 games and a gold medal from the 1987 World Championships in Rome.

From her highly decorated nails to the way she played with the fabric of her uniform, see some of the Florence “Flo-Jo” Griffith Joyner’s best style moments on the track.

U.S. Olympics Track and Field Trials, 1988

In her partnership with Adidas, Joyner showcased how fashion and sports could coalesce. During the 1988 Olympic Trials in Indianapolis, Ind., the athlete styled various looks with such delicate fabric as lace. The bodysuit featured sheer lace detailing on the torso and down the legs of Joyner’s uniform, putting a feminine twist on the standard track and field style.

Even when she was wearing pieces closer to the status quo, Joyner found unique ways to embellish her wardrobe to make it her own. During the women’s 200-meter race at the 1988 Olympic trials, she wore a track suit that featured an asymmetrical one-leg design.

Joyner referred to the look as a “one-legger.” This was a style Joyner wore often and even styled with bright colors, like the image above from another heat during the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in July 1988.

Much like her pink and white tracksuit, Joyner also implemented pops of color into her track and field wardrobe, standing out from the competition.

“Flo-Jo’s style fused and updated traditional runners’ functional athletic apparel with jazzy fabrications, like lace, and refreshing silhouettes that emitted a sense of showmanship with her eclectic energy,” Darnell-Jamal Lisby, the fashion curator of the Cleveland Museum of Art, told HuffPost in 2021. “She designed many of her own uniforms, so they were personal to her.”

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Summer Olympics 1988

Along with her eclectic athletic wardrobe, Joyner was widely known for her acrylic nails. Often intricately designed with vibrant colors and embellishments, Joyner competed with her decorated nails, which were often 4 to 6 inches long.

Joyner’s nails were on full display as she competed in the women’s 100-meter, 200-meter, 4×100-meter, and 4×400-meter events at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. There, she put a spin on the tracksuit uniform, adding a connected caped hood to her uniform that went over her head.

At the 1988 Olympics, Joyner became known as the fastest woman in the world when she set the record for the women’s 100-meter sprint at 10.49 seconds. And she did it all in style, leaving the Olympics with three gold medals.

Flo-Jo’s Influence on Today’s Athletes

In the decades since her 1998 death, Joyner’s influence in sports and fashion persists.

During the 2021 Australian Open, 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams collaborated with Nike on a unique tennis kit that paid homage to Flo-Jo and her “one-leggers.” Williams wore an asymmetrical bodysuit in black, red and pink color ways, matching both the silhouette and the colors and patterns Joyner styled in the 1980s.

2024 Olympian and Track and Field star Sha ‘ Carri Richardson often pays homage to Flo-Jo with her decorated long nails and vibrant hair. The athlete competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics and won the silver medal in the 100-meter race.

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