Orla Rabey broke two Guernsey records on the first day of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, a fitting opening act for what she says will be her final competition representing the island.

The 24-year-old lowered her own Guernsey 50m butterfly mark to 28.39 seconds — 0.06 seconds faster than the record she set at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games four years ago. She finished second in her heat and 25th out of 52 swimmers overall. BBC Sport

Later that same session, Rabey teamed up with Tatiana Tostevin, Emma Bourgaize and Tallulah-Mae Rautenbach for the women's 4x100m freestyle relay. The quartet clocked 3 minutes 55.88 seconds in the semi-final — more than three seconds quicker than Guernsey's previous best, also set at the Commonwealth Games four years prior. They qualified seventh-fastest for the final. BBC Sport

In the final, Guernsey placed eighth of eight teams in 3:56.64 — still the second-fastest time ever by a Guernsey quartet. Australia took gold, finishing 25.24 seconds ahead. BBC Sport

All four Guernsey swimmers split under 60 seconds for their relay legs. Rabey, leading off, recorded a reaction time of 0.31 seconds and a split of 58.47. SwimSwam

"I didn't really know how I was going to swim, so to come out and break two records on the first day, I'll take that," Rabey said. She added that she had "left it all out there." BBC Sport

Rabey had come out of retirement for Glasgow. The lure of another Commonwealth Games was enough to tempt her back, she said. AOL

Her career spans four Island Games, where she has won 29 medals, and a Youth Commonwealth Games appearance in 2017, where she set a then-personal best of 29.87 seconds in the 50m butterfly — finishing 14th. Yahoo Sports; Guernsey Swimming

The progress since then is measured in hundredths. Rabey's 28.39 in Glasgow is 1.48 seconds faster than that youth mark nine years ago — a lifetime in a race that lasts barely 28.

Fellow Guernsey swimmers Tatiana Tostevin and Molly Staples also competed in the 50m butterfly, clocking 28.92 and 29.10 seconds respectively. BBC Sport

For a swimmer who has worn Guernsey's colours across more than a decade of competition, two national records on a single opening day is a satisfying way to sign off.