Rainbow-Colored Nail Polish Breaks Rules, Athlete Told in Moscow

Rainbow-colored nail polish is against the rules, a Swedish athlete was told while competing in Moscow this month at the World Athletics Championships.

High jumper Emma Green-Tregaro had painted her nails during the competition to show support for LGBT Russians. But when she took the field on Saturday, her nails were all colored red, not rainbow.

Representatives for the IAAF, which oversees Swedish track and field, told Agence France-Presse and the Associated Press that it never asked the high jumper to remove the nail polish and merely pointed out the code of conduct.

Green-Tregaro had made clear her nail polish wasn't accidental, posting a photo of her multi-colored fingernails online, saying ""Nails painted in the colors of the rainbow. #pride #Moscow2013."

Meanwhile, the head of the U.S. Olympic Committee said this week that athletes are expected to "comply with the laws" of Russia during the Winter Olympics in Sochi. But he did not make clear whether wearing pins or even rainbow-colored nail polish would be frowned upon.