Bjørn Rune Gjelsten (born 17 September 1956 in

Tomrefjord Tomra or 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 Fiksdal lies to the northwest. The village ...

) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

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 Wimbledon Football Club was an English association football, football club formed in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, south-west London, in 1889 and based at Plough Lane (1912–98), Plough Lane from 1912 to 1991. Founded as Wimbledon Old Centr ...

and involved in the controversial relocation of the team from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

Offshore powerboat racing career

Gjelsten made his powerboat racing debut in 1994 in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, winning his first race in

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

with throttleman Jim Dyke. In 1996, he formed Class 1's most successful partnership with

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

man

Steve Curtis ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

, 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 The Segrave Trophy is awarded to the British national who demonstrates "Outstanding Skill, Courage and Initiative on Land, Water and in the Air". The trophy is named in honour of Sir Henry Segrave, the first person to hold both the land and wat ...

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

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 Plough Lane – named The Cherry Red Records Stadium for sponsorship reasons – is a football stadium in Wimbledon, south-west London, which has been the home of AFC Wimbledon since 3 November 2020. A groundshare with rugby league side London ...

ground in 1991 and playing at

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

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

stadium in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

, southeast London, Gjelsten, along with Røkke, chairman Charles Koppel and businessman

Pete Winkelman Peter John Winkelman is the current chairman of English association football club Milton Keynes Dons, as well as managing director of the property development consortium Inter MK Ltd that was responsible for developing the Denbigh North district ...

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 football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

and

the Football Association The Football Association (also known as 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 ...

, 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, football club, based in London Borough of Merton, Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 EFL Leagu ...

, 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 large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

, before finally completing the move in 2004, becoming

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

References

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