UK Athletics admits causing death of Paralympian hit on head by metal pole during training

UK Athletics has admitted causing the death of a Paralympian who was hit on the head by a metal pole during training.

Father-of-five Abdullah Hayayei, 36, who represented the United Arab Emirates, was fatally injured at Newham Leisure Centre in east London on 11 July 2017. He was preparing to represent his country in the F34 class discus, javelin and shot put at the World Para Athletics Championships in London when part of a throwing cage fell on him, and he died at the scene.

A joint investigation launched by Scotland Yard and Newham Council’s health and safety team established that the throwing cage had not been put up correctly, making it unstable.

UK Athletics Ltd admitted corporate manslaughter at the Old Bailey on Friday, having previously pleaded not guilty. The charge said the national governing body for athletics caused the death of Mr Hayayei by “supplying for use at an organised para-athletics training event in which he participated a discus/shot put cage which it used and operated without its base structure and which collapsed” into the Paralympian while he was practising shot putting.

At the same hearing on Friday, Keith Davies, 78, who was head of sport for the 2017 World Paralympic Athletics Championships, pleaded guilty to a health and safety charge. The 78-year-old, of Leytonstone, east London, had denied gross negligence manslaughter.

In a statement, UK Athletics said it “deeply regrets” the incident, adding: “Our deepest thoughts and sympathy remain with his family, friends, teammates and all those affected by the events of that day.

“As you will appreciate, due to the ongoing court proceedings UK Athletics is unable to comment any further at this time.”

Prosecutor Karen Robinson invited the court to set a two-day sentencing hearing in early June. She confirmed the prosecution would not seek a trial and the outstanding charges would be dealt with at the conclusion of the sentencing.

Davies was granted continued bail on the condition he liaise with the Probation Service for a pre-sentence report.

The Metropolitan Police said the conviction was the result of a meticulous investigation that required detailed engineering expertise to understand the chain of events that led to the tragedy. Officers examined more than 1,500 documents, took around 160 statements, spoke with more than 80 witnesses and collated a number of expert reports.

Detective Sergeant Brett Hagen, who led the investigation, said: “Our thoughts are with Mr Hayayei’s family during what will be a significant moment for them. We thank them for their ongoing patience, understanding and dignity throughout this lengthy and complex investigation.

“The resulting charges and early guilty plea reflect our perseverance and dedication, and the significant work undertaken to build a comprehensive and compelling case against the defendants. Cases of this nature are rare and particularly difficult to prosecute due to various complexities surrounding the legislation, so we welcome this outcome.”

Colin Gibbs, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Abdullah Hayayei was a father-of-five who should have been able to compete on the world stage and return home safely to his family.

“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 fact the organisation has admitted. For years, there was a failure to inspect, maintain and properly manage basic safety components, leaving a heavy metal structure dangerously unstable.

“Our thoughts remain with Mr Hayayei’s family, and we hope these convictions bring them some measure of justice.”