Michael Phelps Sounds More And More Like He Is Going To Compete In The 2016 Olympics

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Shortly after winning his 18th career gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Michael Phelps was emphatic that his swimming career was over. Now, with less than three years until the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Phelps is singing a different tune.

While visiting Brazil to shoot a commercial with soccer legend Pelé, Phelps was asked if he would compete in the Rio Olympics. Phelps danced around the question, calling it "the million dollar question" (via Yahoo! Sports).

"I've said 100 times if I feel like coming back ... I could," said Phelps. "But I'm not saying I am going to."

This comes after Phelps' coach recently revealed that Phelps has re-entered the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency drug testing program. This will allow Phelps to start competing again as early as March.

This is a much different picture than the one Phelps painted after his final race at the London Olympics. At that time, Phelps went as far as to say that a teammate would have to "eat [his] fins" after that teammate said he would eat his fins if Phelps never competed again.