AAP


Dual Olympic medallist Kim Crow kick-started Australia's first international rowing regatta in 13 years with a convincing heat win on the first morning of the Sydney World Cup on Friday.


The first World Cup event to be held outside of Europe has drawn disappointingly small fields in the early stages of the new Olympic cycle but there were some quality performances at Penrith Lakes.


Crow showed her class in winning her heat in the single sculls and qualifying fastest for Sunday's final at the Sydney International Regatta Centre - the scene of the 2000 Olympic regatta.


In perfect millpond conditions, the former hurdler followed up her victory at the national titles 24 hours earlier with a dominant row of seven minutes 53.99 seconds.


Crow, who won silver in the double sculls and bronze in the single at the London Olympics, eased off over the last 500m but still led Estonia's Kaisa Pajusalu and American Susan Francia, an Olympic champion in the women's eight, home by two-and-a-half lengths.


Another USA eights gold medallist, Eleanor Logan, presents as the 27-year-old Crow's main challenger in Sunday's final after she won the second heat in 7:54.12 and Chinese veteran Xiuyun Zhang withdrew.


Zhang wasn't the only rower to pull out from day one races as the two Australian crews entered in the men's four gave up their preliminary race to rest for the national championhip final on Friday afternoon.


With only four boats entered in the men's four, the Australian boats will still be competing in Sunday finals, but it left the race-for-lanes heat with just Great Britain and New Zealand fighting it out.


The most impressive Friday heat performance was by the British women's pair with London Games gold-medallist Helen Glover and her new partner, Polly Swann, streeting the field and finishing 12 seconds clear of the leading Australian pair of Tess Gerrand and Katrina Bateman.


The British - boasting London gold medallists Andy Triggs-Hodge, Pete Reed and Alex Gregory - also won the four-boat men's eight preliminary race (5:40.87), leading home USA and Australia.


The young Australian women's quad sculls crew - containing three of the four who won last year's under-23 world championship - pushed the top-notch USA boat hard before being pipped on the line.