UK Athletics has formally admitted corporate manslaughter over the death of Paralympian Abdullah Hayayei, nearly eight years after the athlete was killed when a metal throwing cage collapsed during a training session at Newham Leisure Centre in London ahead of the 2017 World Para-athletics Championships.
Hayayei, a 36-year-old United Arab Emirates athlete and father of five, had been preparing to compete in multiple throwing events when the fatal incident occurred. The organisation reversed its earlier not-guilty stance during an Old Bailey hearing, while Keith Davies, then head of sport for the championships, also pleaded guilty to a health and safety offence after previously denying gross negligence manslaughter.
Prosecutors confirmed sentencing will take place over two days in June, bringing the long-running case closer to conclusion following a tragedy that shocked the global Paralympic community and prompted tributes at the championships’ opening ceremony later that year.
UK Athletics pleaded guilty on Friday to the corporate manslaughter of a Paralympian who died during training.
Abdullah Hayayei was fatally injured when he was hit on the head by a metal pole at Newham Leisure Centre in east London on July 11, 2017.
UK Athletics Ltd, the… pic.twitter.com/NbsfKNtIGE
— Sportstar (@sportstarweb) February 20, 2026
