NEWHAM, LONDON — UK Athletics and its former head of sport, Keith Davies, are being sentenced for corporate manslaughter and health and safety breaches following the 2017 death of UAE Paralympian Abdullah Hayayei in Newham, London. Hayayei, a 36-year-old wheelchair-using shot putter with cerebral palsy, died at the scene after a heavy metal bar weighing 25kg struck him on the head when a training cage collapsed during a gust of wind.
The equipment that caused Hayayei’s death was missing key components, including base support parts and bolts. Prosecutor John Price KC told the court there was a “culture and practice” of assembling the shot-putting cage without essential safety components. “It was an accident waiting to happen,” Price said.
Both UK Athletics and Davies, 78, pleaded guilty earlier in 2026. Price said Davies had told investigators the equipment was assembled according to instructions, but added, “The evidence shows he actually knew it and therefore this was not a truthful statement by him.” Price also accused UK Athletics of attempting to shift blame entirely onto Davies “and even appear to have pointed the finger at the Newham venue.”
Hayayei was practicing for the World Para Athletics Championships at the time of the incident. He had competed at the 2016 Paralympics, finishing sixth in the javelin and seventh in the shot put. His widow, Badriah Rashid Zayed Al-Yahyaei, delivered a victim impact statement describing how his death left her alone with five young children.
“It was a huge shock to me because I was waiting for the news of his victory and success. 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,” she said. “My husband went out to represent his country, raise the name of the UAE, and returned as a corpse.”
Davies wrote to the court ahead of sentencing, stating he has found it “so very hard” to come to terms with Hayayei’s death. “I have woken every night thinking about his loss, and his poor family. These feelings have intensified since I found out about the investigation for manslaughter,” he said. The sentencing hearing is taking place at the Old Bailey before Judge Richard Marks KC, who is expected to hand down his decisions on Tuesday.