UK Athletics chiefs are facing a substantial financial penalty after a Paralympian was tragically killed when a section of a metal throwing cage collapsed on his head. Abdullah Hayayei, a 36-year-old shot-putter from the United Arab Emirates, suffered fatal injuries while training for the World Paralympic Athletics Championships at Newham Leisure Centre in east London on July 11, 2017.
The Old Bailey heard that the throwing cage fell apart in windy conditions because 'half of it was missing'. The cage had been purchased for the London 2012 Olympics but was gifted by the Organisation Committee to UK Athletics after the conclusion of the Paralympics in September 2012.
Mr Hayayei, a father of five whose youngest child was just two at the time of the incident, was pronounced dead at the scene after police arrived at the leisure centre. He had been training to compete in the F34 class at the championships, which is for competitors with functional arms but who have difficulties using their legs. He had previously achieved sixth place in javelin and seventh in shot put at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Mr Hayayei's coach, Ayman Ibrahim, and his assistant, Abdula Shaik, were just 13 metres away when the structure collapsed. Keith Davies, 79, head of sport for the championships, denied gross negligence manslaughter but admitted failing to take reasonable care for health and safety under Section 7 and Section 33 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. UK Athletics Ltd, the national governing body for athletics, admitted corporate manslaughter in February.
For UK Athletics, Simon Antrobus KC argued that a fine should be at 'the very bottom' of the sentencing range, approximately £350,000, due to the organisation's diminishing turnover since the tragedy. '£350,000 will involve cuts to the organisation. They simply cannot pay that out of cash,' said Mr Antrobus. UK Athletics has agreed to pay £44,000 in prosecution costs.
In his statement, coach Mr Ibrahim told police how Mr Hayayei was 'about to throw' when the cage 'collapsed'. After taking a blow equivalent to a 200kg weight, the Paralympian fell unconscious and was declared dead later that evening despite resuscitation attempts by helicopter paramedics.
Mr Hayayei's widow, Badria Al-Yahyaei, said: 'He was my husband and father of my children. He was very close to me and cared deeply for us and the house. Despite his disability he was able to provide us with a stable life.' She said Mr Hayayei's surviving five children now rely on his brother financially, after seeing their monthly income plummet from £8,000 to £1,800. 'He used to take care of every detail of the house and follow up on the children's studies and needs. His presence was very important to us all. It was a huge shock to me because I was waiting for news of his victory and success in the championships.'
She added: 'At first I could not comprehend what happened and refused to believe the news and until today that moment is still in my mind. I bear many responsibilities alone and bear constant fear and anxiety. The children were deeply affected by the loss of their father because he was very close to them and proud of him because he represented the UAE. I was pained even more when I knew that what happened could have been avoided if safety processes were present and properly applied. What happened was not just a simple mistake. It was the result of negligence, gross negligence, that could have been avoided.'
Mr Hayayei's brother said the shot-putter was 'loved by everyone' and that his family had been 'living in continuous sadness' since his death. 'He was a source of pride for all of us despite his disability. He had great determination and ambition,' he said.
Though Mr Hayayei's coaches described a strong gust of wind, an expert found it had been a 'moderate south-westerly' peaking in the low thirties mph, which the cage should have easily been able to withstand. Davies had been directly involved in its purchase along with an identical white cage before the 2012 London Olympics and led its use until July 2017. He visited the factory of specialist cage manufacturer Mondo in Spain in 2010 and witnessed the cage's re-erection by volunteers in Newham in 2017 once it had been moved there.
Davies later told police he received no 'direct' training for how to put up the cages, but claimed they had been erected according to the instructions. However, prosecutor John Price KC told the court this was 'not a truthful statement'. Davies had told police that five-gallon water bottles were used to weigh down the cage, but when inspectors looked at the wreckage they found not all the bottles were filled to marked levels. Investigators also discovered a risk assessment booklet, referred to by Davies, did not deal specifically with the management and servicing of the throwing cage. 'There was no method for keeping an inventory of all the many parts, to ensure they remained together and were all present when the cages were erected,' said Mr Price.
Asked what had happened by investigating Newham licensing officer John Newcombe, Mondo representative Johannes Hoekstra said: 'I can tell you exactly what is wrong here - half of it is missing.' Mr Hoekstra explained there was no steel base, which would usually be joined to the cage by thick steel bolts. When Mr Newcombe asked if he was sure, Mr Hoekstra confirmed: 'The throw cage should not be used without the base as it would not be stable.' The cage had also been assembled on a slope, and without the net support fixed to the post, though this was not the primary reason for the collapse.
On the missing base plates, Mr Price said: 'One does not have to be an engineer to understand why they are there.' The prosecutor said it was 'a collapse waiting to happen', and that it could have taken out Mr Hayayei's coaching team if the wind was blowing in a different direction. Davies' police interview also revealed this was not the first time a cage had collapsed. In 2012, he said 'exceptional wind' caused an identical white throwing cage to fall down. But speaking to police in 2017, Mr Hoekstra recalled he had found the white cage erected without base plates in 2011. Mr Price suggested this showed the assembly that led to the 2017 collapse was not a 'one-off' event but a 'culmination of a course of conduct'.
When Mr Newcombe went to the London Stadium looking for the missing base plates on July 29, 2017, he met Davies, who told him Mondo had never given them the base supports and that he had enquired about where they were without success. But a police officer investigating the case obtained a photo taken eight days earlier on July 21, showing a set of white base plates in a storage room at the stadium. In January 2020, police discovered the base plates at Surrey Overland Ltd, Lower Mount Pleasant Farm in Cambridge, which had supposedly been moved there to free up space. The base plates for the purple cage have never been found. Mr Price said it was 'reasonable to infer' Davies knew where the white plates were all along, and had previously chosen not to use them. 'He was now seeking to cover it up,' said Mr Price.
Davies, a former PE teacher, answered no questions when interviewed under caution. UK Athletics Ltd was identified as a suspect but tried to lay all the blame on Davies, providing a statement that Mr Price described as a 'deeply unworthy document by a national sporting body and one of which it should be ashamed'. Defence counsel Mark Balysz KC said Davies had 'given his life' to athletics as he urged the judge to consider his remorse.
Earlier, the governing body said: 'UK Athletics deeply regrets the incident. Our deepest thoughts and sympathy remain with his family, friends, team-mates and all those affected by the events of that day.' Companies House records show UK Athletics Ltd posted a revenue of £13.8 million in 2025, but this was matched by an expenditure of the same figure.
London 2017 was to be Hayayei's second appearance at the world championships after finishing fifth in the discus and eighth in the shot put in Doha in 2015. The prosecution followed a seven-year investigation by the Metropolitan Police and the London Borough of Newham's health and safety team, who found stabilising metal lattice base plates of the discus cage were missing, meaning it did not resist wind properly. Officers examined more than 1,500 documents, took around 160 statements, and spoke with more than 80 witnesses, police said.
Colin Gibbs, Senior Specialist Prosecutor with the CPS Special Crime Division, 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.'
Detective Sergeant Brett Hagen, who led the Met's investigation, said: 'Our thoughts are with Mr Hayayei's family during what will be a significant moment for them. 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.'
Common Serjeant Richard Marks KC is due to pass sentence tomorrow morning after hearing mitigation this afternoon.
