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Katie Ledecky & Simone Manuel Embody "Squad Goals"

by Noor Al-Sibai

A few days before both of their big wins, American swimmer and gold medalist Simone Manuel tweeted an adorable video of Katie Ledecky, her teammate and fellow gold medalist. In the video, Manuel asked Ledecky to "whip" from the popular song and dance "Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)" by Silento. Eventually, Ledecky obliged, prompting a resounding "yaaaaaaaaas" from Manuel.

The short, cute video is another indication that Ledecky and Manuel — who will both be attending Stanford in the fall and are roommates at this year's Olympics and friends in real life — hands-down represent one of the sweetest friendships at the Games. Apparently, this kind of silliness paid off for both of them, as both have won gold medals already and could potentially win more.

Based on tweets shared to and from each other, Manuel and Ledecky have been friends for a while. The two girls have been roommates at least once before, love to take selfies together, and seem especially fond of shared dance parties. It's safe to say that these two world-class swimmers are probably living it up together in Rio during the Olympics, if their Twitter antics are any indication.

The only thing cuter than funny photos and videos of each other is how much the two seem to support each other.

As the world watches their amazing feats of athleticism and strength, it's easy to forget that most of the young athletes at the Olympics are still young. And yes, they like to goof off once in a while too. Just imagine how awesome it would be to get to spend a couple of weeks in Rio with one of your best friends and thousands of other awesome people your age, all of whom know who you are and want to hang out with you. It's like college without the loan debt — and an astronomical amount of dedication and intense athletic training instead.

Manuel and Ledecky's adorable online and IRL friendship proves that even among world-famous athletes, female friendships are truly something special. And for all of us watching, they're setting the "squad goals" bar pretty high.