Japan’s Olympic hope Kohei Uchimura racks up £3,700 Pokemon Go bill

Kohei Uchimura from Japan indicates the number of his world championship titles, not the number of zeroes on his mobile phone bill from playing Pokemon Go in Rio. Photograph: Matthias Schrader/AP

The Japanese Olympic hopeful Kohei Uchimura, the record six-time world champion and possibly greatest living all-round male gymnast, has run up a 500,000 yen (£3,700) mobile phone bill in Rio playing Pokemon Go.

Thankfully for Uchimura, his Japanese carrier service agreed to reduce his bill to a 3,000 yen (£22) daily all-you-can-use contract.

Uchimura is the reigning gold medallist in the men’s all-around competition, and has said he is just as committed to a Japan team gold in Rio de Janeiro as he is to the personal title.

The Nikkan Sports newspaper predicted: “Uchimura may not get any Pokemon, but he will surely get gold.”