Czechoslovakia (silver) and Romania (bronze) also won their first medals in the men's coxed pair.

[2] Two of the 18 competitors from the 1968 coxed pair Final A returned: rower Wolfgang Gunkel and coxswain Klaus-Dieter Neubert from the fourth-place East German boat.

They, along with new second rower Jörg Lucke (a 1968 coxless pairs Olympic champion), had won the 1971 European championship and were among the favorites.

The Romanian crew, Ștefan Tudor, Petre Ceapura, and cox Ladislau Lovrenschi, were the reigning (1970) World Champions.

France and the United States each made their 11th appearance, tied for most among nations to that point.