It was hard pick a favorite prior to the competition. The only international event prior to the Olympics was the 1934 European Championship, but the winners in København (Ernst Liebrecht and Albert Schorn of Germany) weren’t competing, and neither were the silver and bronze medallists. During the race, the difference between the contenders and the also-rans quickly became clear, though. Germany (Paul Wevers and Ludwig Landen) and Austria (Viktor Kalisch and Karl Steinhuber) soon distanced themselves from the rest of the field. Austria attempted to take the lead at the halfway point, but Germany managed to hold them off. The Austrians then had given their all, and had to let the German boat go, trailing by 20 seconds at the finish line.