Speedway ace is back on board with the Robins (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Speedway ace is back on board with the Robins

SWINDON have now completed their top five for 2003, with the announcement that popular Dane Charlie Gjedde will be back on board for a second successive term.

That gives the Robins a powerful heat-leader trio of Paul Fry, Oliver Allen and Charlie, together with the solid second-string twosome of Chris Neath and Jamie Smith.

Charlie first arrived on the British Speedway scene in 1998 he was when snapped-up by Swindon.

He subsequently made his club debut in a challenge match at Blunsdon against old rivals Oxford on March 19.

Charlie proved popular with the Swindon supporters, not least for his tireless efforts on the track, but also for his cheery demeanour.

With the Robins competing in the Elite League, the going was often tough, but the Dane stuck at it manfully to garner 190 points (including bonus) from 36 official meetings.

In 1999, Swindon opted to join the Premier League, but Charlie was keen to further his career in the top-flight and joined Coventry on loan.

Nonetheless, after completing just seven Craven Shield matches for the Bees, Charlie and fellow Dane Rene Madsen were released as Coventry re-shuffled their side in order to bring in Billy Hamill.

He eventually linked with Wolverhampton, who were in the midst of an injury crisis and rode in 14 league and Knock-Out Cup matches for an impressive average of 5.36.

Charlie was all set to remain with Wolverhampton in 2000, but a month before the tapes were due to rise, he was involved in a car crash in his homeland.

The accident left him with a broken right kneecap, which was quickly operated on and later in April, he made an attempt to return.

However, in a practice session, he went into a corner and felt the knee crack again.

Unfortunately, that ruled him out of action for the entire year. Keen to re-establish himself in the sport again in 2001, Charlie was allowed to join Reading on loan.

Regular double-figure scores followed and he clearly enjoyed his year with the Racers, appearing in 39 official matches and recording a huge tally of 436 points (including bonus).

Having performed so well for the Berkshire side, it came as no surprise when Swindon boss Peter Toogood recalled him to Blunsdon for the 2002 campaign.

Just before the season, Charlie snapped his achilles' tendon while playing football in Denmark and, for a while, it looked like he was in for another spell on the sidelines.

Thankfully, frequent physiotherapy did the trick and he only ended up missing Swindon's first two Premier Trophy matches at home and away against Newport.

The big scores kept on coming as the Dane showed a real zest for being back in a Swindon race-jacket with his attacking style of racing.

Amazingly, he finished the season with an almost identical record to that achieved at Reading - a total of 435 points (including bonus) from 39 official team matches.