The competition exists out of three rounds, each with races of up to eight boats. In each round, the top few with the fastest time advance to the next round, together with a number of fastest non-qualifiers. The fastest team in the final is the winner of the event.
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Eighteen pairs qualified for the event with the pair from Ireland as the apparent favorites for the title, as reigning European and world champions. Germany and Italy were also very strong, completing the podium at the European champions and the world championships, though the Italian pair was recently defeated by Norway at the most recent World Cup event. Some of the other outsiders and potential medal contenders included the Czech Republic, Ukraine, and Spain.