The competition exists out of two 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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Ten teams qualified for the event with Australia as the reigning world champion, but with ten boats, medal contenders were plenty. The Netherlands won silver at the world championships and was the reigning European champion, just ahead of Ireland, Denmark won bronze at the most recent world championships, Great Britain took bronze at the European championships, and Romania and Poland also belonged to the potential outsiders. Canada, China, and the United States completed the field.
Netherlands
China
Canada
Great Britain
Poland
Australia
Ireland
Romania
United States
Denmark
