Bjørn Rune Gjelsten (born 17 September 1956 in

Tomrefjord Tomrefjord is a village located in Vestnes Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located just south of the village of Vik at the end of the Tomrefjorden. The village of Fiksdalen lies to the northwest. The village has a po ...

) is a Norwegian businessman and

Offshore powerboat racing Offshore powerboat racing is a type of racing by ocean-going powerboats, typically point-to-point racing. In most of the world, offshore powerboat racing is led by the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) regulated Class 1 and Powerboat P1 ...

World Champion. He was also a joint owner of Wimbledon Football Club and involved in the controversial relocation of the team from London to

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...

Offshore powerboat racing career

Gjelsten made his powerboat racing debut in 1994 in the U.S., winning his first race in

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

with throttleman Jim Dyke. In 1996, he formed Class 1's most successful partnership with Englishman Steve Curtis, which in the ''"Spirit of Norway"'' the pair took:Bjorn Rune Gjelsten – Spirit Of Norway Driver
/ref> *The World Championship - 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004 *The European Championship - 1998, 2002, 2003 *The Middle East Championship - 2003, 2004 *The Pole Position Championship - 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Curtis was awarded the Segrave Trophy in 2003, and the committee presented Gjelsten with a Segrave Certificate. In 2004, Gjelsten retired to concentrate on his businesses, and sold the ''"Spirit of Norway"'' team to Bård Eker, who won the 2005 Championship with Curtis. In 2006, Gjelsten bought back the team from Eker, and won the 2006 Championship with Curtis.

Relocation of Wimbledon Football Club

Buying into Wimbledon Football Club in the late 1990s, Gjelsten and his business partner Kjell Inge Røkke became joint owners of the team in 2000. The following year, with the side homeless since leaving their Plough Lane ground in 1991 and playing at Crystal Palace's

Selhurst Park Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst, in the London Borough of Croydon, England, which is the home ground of Premier League club Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted interna ...

stadium in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

, southeast London, Gjelsten, along with Røkke, chairman Charles Koppel and businessman Pete Winkelman agreed to relocate the team to

, a town around 60 miles from their traditional base. This sparked a year of protest at matches from Wimbledon fans, determined not to let their club be 'franchised' like this. Although common in American sport, the relocation of a professional English football club had never been done before. After rejections from the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

and

the Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

, the decision was eventually passed on to a three-man arbitration panel, the outcome being two to one in favour of the move. Wimbledon fans, outraged with the decision, agreed to form a new club to support,

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional association football club based in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton, London. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in ...

, and declared a boycott on their former team. The following season, Wimbledon FC would go on to play in front of record low crowds, including just 664 for a League Cup game against

Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...

, before finally completing the move in 2004, becoming Milton Keynes Dons.

References

1956 births Living people People from Vestnes Norwegian motorboat racers Norwegian football chairmen and investors Wimbledon F.C. {{norway-business-bio-stub