Star gymnast Kohei Uchimura racks up $5000 dollar phone bill playing Pokemon Go before Rio Olympics

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Japanese gymnast Kohei Uchimura had some spare time on his hands last week after landing in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with his teammates for some final preparations before the Rio Games.

So the reigning Olympic gold medalist in the mens all-around did what many folks these days do in such situations he played Pokemon Go. A lot of it.

It apparently didnt bother him that the popular mobile game isnt even available in Brazil yet, meaning there werent even any virtual Pokemon out there for him to catch.

But what did bother him was the enormous bill he received from his wireless carrier due to roaming charges racked up during his pursuit of Pikachu and company. Uchimura shook his head in embarrassment Tuesday when revealing to Kyodo News he had been charged 500,000 yen, which comes out to $4,954 in American dollars.

Teammate Kenzo Shirai added: He looked dead at the team meal that day.

Fortunately for Uchimura, he was able to convince his carrier to reduce the charges to a flat fee of around $30 a day.

I really lucked out, he said.

(LA times)