The 16 teams first raced in two heats. The top four teams in each heat advanced directly to the final.
Heat 1 |
1. | {{flagIOCathlete|Thor Axelsson and Nils Björklöf|FIN|1948 Summer}} | 4:16.7 | QF |
2. | {{flagIOCathlete|Kálmán Blahó and János Urányi|HUN|1948 Summer}} | 4:18.4 | QF |
3. | {{flagIOCathlete|Ota Kroutil and Miloš Pech|TCH|1948 Summer}} | 4:20.4 | QF |
4. | {{flagIOCathlete|Gerald Covey and Henry Harper|CAN|1948 Summer}} | 4:34.2 | QF |
5. | {{flagIOCathlete|René Fonck and Jean Nickels|LUX|1948 Summer}} | 4:41.7 |
6. | {{flagIOCathlete|Bruno Masciadri and Franz Reiner|SUI|1948 Summer}} | 4:43.9 |
7. | {{flagIOCathlete|Jack Henderson and John Simmons|GBR|1948 Summer}} | 4:45.0 |
Heat 2 |
1. | {{flagIOCathlete|Ejvind Hansen and Bernhard Jensen|DEN|1948 Summer}} | - | QF |
2. | {{flagIOCathlete|Ivar Mathisen and Knut Østby|NOR|1948 Summer}} | - | QF |
3. | {{flagIOCathlete|Cees Gravesteyn and Wim Pool|NED|1948 Summer}} | - | QF |
4. | {{flagIOCathlete|Hans Berglund and Lennart Klingström|SWE|1948 Summer}} | - | QF |
5. | {{flagIOCathlete|Paul Fellinger and Herbert Klepp|AUT|1948 Summer}} | - |
6. | {{flagIOCathlete|Frans Van den Berghen and Albert Van de Vilet|BEL|1948 Summer}} | - |
7. | {{flagIOCathlete|François Donna and René Richez|FRA|1948 Summer}} | - |
8. | {{flagIOCathlete|Alfons Jezewski and Marian Matloka|POL|1948 Summer}} | - |
9. | {{flagIOCathlete|Raymond Clark and John Eiseman|USA|1948 Summer}} | - |
No times were recorded in the second heat according to the official Olympic report.
width=30 style="background:gold;" | align=left|{{flagIOCathlete|Hans Berglund and Lennart Klingström|SWE|1948 Summer}} | 4:07.3 |
style="background:silver;" | align=left|{{flagIOCathlete|Ejvind Hansen and Bernhard Jensen|DEN|1948 Summer}} | 4:07.5 |
style="background:#cc9966;" | align=left|{{flagIOCathlete|Thor Axelsson and Nils Björklöf|FIN|1948 Summer}} | 4:08.7 |
4. | {{flagIOCathlete|Ivar Mathisen and Knut Østby|NOR|1948 Summer}} | 4:09.1 |
5. | {{flagIOCathlete|Ota Kroutil and Miloš Pech|TCH|1948 Summer}} | 4:09.8 |
6. | {{flagIOCathlete|Cees Gravesteyn and Wim Pool|NED|1948 Summer}} | 4:15.8 |
7. | {{flagIOCathlete|Gerald Covey and Henry Harper|CAN|1948 Summer}} | 4:56.8 |
- | {{flagIOCathlete|Kálmán Blahó and János Urányi|HUN|1948 Summer}} | DQ |
Blahó and Urányi were disqualified for "hanging" in the wake of another kayak.