The top finishers from each of the three heats advanced directly to the finals while the remaining teams were relegated to the semifinals.
Overall Results Heats The top three finishers in each of the two semifinals advanced to the final.
Overall Results Heats The race was delayed five hours by wind gusts of 40 mph (64 km/h), which happened three times in the event alone.
Australia moved from third to first with 50 meters left, only to have the Hungarians surge ahead at the finish to win the race.
The winning time was 16 seconds slower than that of the qualifying heats four days earlier due to the adverse weather conditions.