Olympic gymnastics star left with $5,000 Pokémon Go bill in Brazil

Kohei Uchimura's bid to become the first gymnast in more than 40-years to win back-to-back Olympic all-around gymnastics golds began with a costly error as his as addiction to Pokemon Go landed him with a near $5,000 phone bill.

The man known as Super-mura, who has won a record six successive world all-around titles, was persuaded by his team mates to download the game shortly after touching down in Sao Paulo for a pre-Games training camp last week.

But rather than getting a buzz at playing a game that has turned into a global craze over the past weeks, Uchimura was left with a mighty headache when he clapped eyes on his data roaming bill.

"500,000 yen ($4,940)," a red-faced Uchimura told Kyodo News. Team mate Kenzo Shirai added: "He looked dead at the team meal that day."

The bill would have capped a frustrating few days for the 27-year-old as he is unlikely to have captured any Pokemon as the game is not officially available in Brazil.

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Mobile company waives bill

However, such is Uchimura's standing in his homeland that his mobile phone company agreed to waive the bulk of the cost after he explained his mistake - and instead implemented a flat rate roaming charge of around $30 a day.

"I really lucked out," said Uchimura, who blocked out his obsession of chasing after virtual reality monsters as he went through his paces during a training session with his Japanese team mates in the Rio Olympic Arena on Wednesday.