In Friday’s opening session of the Island Championships, the Plymouth-based Guernsey Swimming Club star shone brightly with a sub-28sec. effort over the 50m breaststroke – a fine 27.98sec. – at St Sampson’s High.
Significantly, this also allowed him to shave 0.11sec. from the gala record set by older brother Charlie-Joe some six years ago.
Ronny, who was over for treatment on a persistent knee injury, had to take that heading into his second Commonwealth Games.
‘I’m definitely happy with that,’ said a swimmer who also dominated the 100m breaststroke.
‘Last time I went 27 was a year-and-a-half ago. To be able to come back and do it in this pool is extra special, and to take my brother’s record as well was a great moment.’
Overall, nine of Guernsey’s 12 Glasgow 2026-bound swimmers had entered the championships weekend.
That included Barracudas distance threat Elodie Riley, who emulated the younger Hallett sibling’s achievement in nicking a record from older sister Delphine.
The teenager won the 1,500m freestyle in 17-47.72, marking a solid improvement on Delphine’s 18-09.90 from 2024.
‘I’m really pleased to see Elodie break a record in the 1,500m,’ said Barracudas head coach and Glasgow 2026 swim team manager Sara Parfit.
‘She’s swimming the 800 at the Commonwealths, but it bodes really well for that.’
Other highlights of Friday’s action included GSC teenager Emma Bourgaize pipping Barracudas rival Oriana Wheeler in the women’s 50m breaststroke.
Bourgaize posted a winning 34.31, leading in her rival by 0.08sec.
Within Saturday’s two-session programme, Barracudas’ Tatiana Tostevin built further Commonwealths buzz by setting a senior record in the 50m backstroke.
This time she was racing her own shadow from six years ago, but in posting 28.58, she lowered the mark by 0.23sec.
‘She said the first 25m felt really easy,’ reflected Parfit.
‘That means she’s got more to give when she goes to the Games.’
Wheeler joined the record-breaking party with a 1-03.90 in the 100m butterfly.
This swim enabled her to chop 0.09sec. off a mark set five years ago by Orla Rabey, one of the few Commonwealth picks absent from the championships.
The versatile Wheeler also came close to the records in several other events, particularly the 100m breaststroke and 400m individual medley.
‘There will be more from her come the Games as well,’ Parfit added.
Tostevin later played her part in an exciting conclusion to Saturday’s women’s programme over 100m freestyle.
She touched in 58.15, which left her clear of a close finish between youngsters Bourgaize (59.30) and Riley (59.40). But she had not done quite enough to take Courtney Butcher’s 17-and-overs record of 58.00 from nine years ago.
The men’s freestyle showed off more emerging talent.
Barracudas’ Henry Bolton dominated the overall in 54.53 despite being at the bottom of the age 15-16 category, though an even younger clubmate Zach Maiden proved a worthy runner-up in 56.08.
Third place went to senior swimmer Spike Jinks in 57.22, just ahead of age 15-16 competitors Samuel Cann and Cooper Robinson.
Maiden was not too weary for having just earlier set an age 13-14 record double and taken senior-level victories across the 200m backstroke and breaststroke.
He covered the backstroke in 2-14.51, improving his own mark from the previous year by 1.35sec.
Maiden not only edged Cann in a breaststroke race to the touch but his 2-33.39 obliterated the age-group mark, set 21 years ago by Jeremy Osborne, by more than six seconds. It made up for him missing out on taking the previous Commonwealth Games swimmer’s record by 0.01sec. in the 50m backstroke.
Barracudas’ Henry Watson and GSC’s Poppy Sargent came away with new breaststroke marks of their own in the youngest age group, 9-10.
Watson’s feat came with a 3-31-05 in the 200m breaststroke, lowering a Conor McKenna record almost as old as him, while Sargent’s 1-34.91 in the 100m edged down Chloe Tostevin’s mark from 18 years ago.
More reaction and report from Sunday’s events to follow.
