UK Athletics In The Dock: The Death Of A Paralympian That Should Never Have Happened

A sentencing hearing at the Old Bailey has laid bare the full extent of the institutional failures that cost Paralympian Abdullah Hayayei his life. UK Athletics and its former head of sport, Keith Davies, are before the court after both pleaded guilty earlier this year, the governing body to corporate manslaughter, Davies to a breach of health and safety law.

The Crown Prosecution Service said: "There can be no doubt that UK Athletics were grossly negligent in their safety management, which caused the death of a talented athlete. They left equipment in a seriously unsafe condition and Mr Hayayei's death was wholly avoidable."

A Tragedy Built on Years of Negligence

Hayayei, a 36-year-old wheelchair-using shot putter from the UAE with cerebral palsy, was killed on July 11, 2017, when a metal throwing cage collapsed in a gust of wind at Newham Leisure Centre in east London, striking him on the head with a 25kg metal bar.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigation by the Metropolitan Police and Newham's health and safety team discovered that the "10 ladder-like metal connectors linking the cage's bases and posts" had not been in use for roughly five years, from 2012 to 2017, resulting in the fatal incident.

Prosecuting at the Old Bailey, John Price KC told the court it was "an accident waiting to happen," adding that there existed a "culture and practice" of assembling the cage without its key components. Davies had claimed the cage was assembled according to instructions, a claim the prosecutor directly challenged, arguing the evidence showed "he actually knew it and therefore this was not a truthful statement."

The court also heard sharp criticism of a legal statement produced by UK Athletics years after the incident, which the prosecutor described as "a deeply unworthy document by a national sporting body and one of which it should be ashamed," accusing the organisation of attempting to lay all blame on Davies and even pointing the finger at the Newham venue.

A Family's Grief, and a Defendant's Remorse

The human cost of the tragedy was brought into sharp focus through a victim impact statement from Hayayei's widow, Badriah Rashid Zayed Al-Yahyaei, who is now raising five young children alone. "It was a huge shock to me because I was waiting for the news of his victory and success," she told the court.

"Suddenly the news reached me. I could not comprehend it at first and refused to believe it, and today that moment is still in my mind. My husband went out to represent his country, raise the name of the UAE, and returned as a corpse."

Davies, now 78, addressed the court through his barrister, expressing deep personal anguish. "I have woken every night thinking about his loss, and his poor family," he said. "These feelings have intensified since I found out about the investigation for manslaughter." Judge Richard Marks KC is expected to hand down sentencing decisions on Tuesday.