First round, heat 1 Simon had a ten-yard lead over Laaftman at the end of the 200 metre leg; after Lindberg gained on Racz, Stenborg passed Nagy during the 400 metre leg, giving Björn a three-yard advantage over Bodor to begin the second half of the race.

Bodor was up to the task, and ran the split in 1:56.6 to pass Björn and win a close contest by three yards.

First round, heat 3 Hamilton gave the Americans a slight lead at the end of the first 200 metres, with the Canadians in second and the British in third.

In the 400 leg, Taylor held the American lead while Montague ensured second place for the Britons.

Braun and Bodor had a duel for second place, with the German, who had a five-yard deficit at the beginning of the 800 metres, winning an exciting contest by five inches.