In seven years London will become the first city to host the modern Olympic Games a third time. Deputy Editor Chris Lloyd looks back on the games of 1908 and 1948 and discovers the first North-East gold medallist was a yachtsman from Darlington.

LONDON yesterday became the first city to be awarded three Olympic Games.

The last time the Games were held in the capital city was in 1948, although it had been expecting to host them in 1944 - the Second World War understandably put a stop to that.

So 1948 was something of a rush job, just two years' planning, no new facilities because of rationing and a budget of just £600,000 (2012 will cost at least £3.8bn).

There was no athletes' village. Instead, elite athletes used barrack blocks at RAF camps, schools and college dormitories as their base. Military camps and private houses were pressed into action for foreign competitors.

Athletes were given a half share in a locker, a mirror and a water bottle.

The 1948 Games were, though, groundbreaking for many reasons.

It was the first Olympics that sports lovers could see from the comfort of their homes. The audience was half a million viewers, mainly in the south-east, watching on the 88,000 sets that were in the country at that time. TV coverage totalled 64 hours and just eight photographers were allowed at the Wembley trackside.

The 1948 games were the first to see starting blocks.

It was also the scene of the Olympics' first photo-finish. Americans Harrison Dillard and Barney Ewell both clocked 10.3 seconds in the 100 metres. Dillard got the gold medal.

Dutch housewife Fanny Blankers-Koen was the star of the Games. She came into them as world record holder in six events but she was only allowed to take part in four.

She won them all: the 100m dash, the 80m hurdles, the 200m and the 4x100m relay, running the anchor leg to claim gold.

Arthur Wint, the 400m winner, had massive British support.

The Jamaican with a Scottish mother and a 9ft stride had made his home in Britain after RAF service.

American Harold Sakata, who later played Bond baddie Oddjob in Goldfinger, won a silver medal in the weightlifting.

And then there was Karoly Takacs, from Hungary. He had had his favoured right hand shattered by a grenade during the War so taught himself to shoot with his left. He won gold in the rapid-fire pistol event.

One of the North-East's most famous footballers captained the combined Great Britain football team in 1948.

He was Bob Hardisty, born in Chester-le-Street but remembered most fondly in Bishop Auckland, for whom he played for 20 years. He played in six Amateur Cup finals, including the Bishops' hat-trick of victories in the late 1950s, but wasn't so successful in the Olympics as Sweden won gold and Yugoslavia silver.

Michael Walford, who was born in Norton on Teesside, was probably the North-East's only medallist. He picked up a silver in the men's hockey.

Don Bland from Houghton-le-Spring was a finalist in the 1,500 metres freestyle swimming event.

London only had a couple of years to organise the 1908 Olympics, too. Originally, Rome was going to be the host, but in 1906 Mount Vesuvius erupted catastrophically, forcing the Olympians to flee.

These Games are best remembered for the extraordinarily painful pictures of of Dorando Pietri 'winning' the marathon.

The 26-mile course had been especially extended by 385 yards at the request of Princess Mary, who wanted the race to start beneath her nursery window at Windsor Castle.

This took its toll on poor Pietri.

Way out in front, he completed the 26 miles but collapsed 300 yards from the finishing line, "his gait being neither a walk nor a run but simply a flounder".

The Times said: "It seemed inhuman to leave Dorando to struggle on unaided and inhuman to urge him to continue."

A couple of officials, including one with a megaphone, gently coaxed him over the line to his gold medal - until the second-placed American, who had been well beaten by a minute, complained and Pietri was disqualified.

The North-East was well represented in 1908 with a Darlington lad called Blair Cochrane winning gold in the eight-metre yachting class - how we'd love to find out more information on him as he must be the North-East's first ever gold winner.

Similarly unknown is George "Butt" Butterfield, who was born in Stockton in 1882, ran for Darlington Harriers and in 1906 ran the fastest mile in the world. During the Olympics, though, he could only manage third in his 1500m heat and second, without qualifying for the final, in the 800m.

He returned to Darlington, became the landlord of the Hole in the Wall pub in the Market Place and was killed in action in France the following year.

We await with baited breath to learn the stories that will make the heroes of London 2012.