When every athletics facility across the UK should have been rushing to check their equipment is safe
What happened?
Shot-putter Abdullah Hayayei, a 36 year-old wheelchair user with cerebral palsy from the UAE, was preparing for the World Para-Athletics Championships in 2017. He was training at Newham Leisure Centre, London. He was in the metal cage, which was the responsibility of UK Athletics (UKA), when there was a strong gust of wind. The cage collapsed, and a heavy metal bar fell on to the athlete. Abdullah died of head injuries.
The subsequent investigation revealed that the cage had not been correctly assembled, and had vital plates missing.
The Police said their investigation had involved years of meticulous work by detectives which uncovered photos from around a dozen athletics events where the same cage had been used. They showed the restraints were not being used to secure the equipment when the athlete died. The investigation and legal process took nearly a decade to complete.
Legal Outcome
UK Athletics pleaded guilty to a charge of corporate manslaughter in February 2026. 79 year-old Keith Davies, UKA’s former head of sport, pleaded guilty to a breach of health and safety law at the same hearing. Mr Davies, before his guilty plea, had previously been charged with gross negligence manslaughter.
In June 2026, UKA were fined £350,000 with £44,000 costs. The judge noted that UKA had a turnover of £13.8million with a projected loss of £400,000. Mr Davies was served a 175 hour community service order.
What can we learn from what happened?
On the face of it, this seemed a straightforward case. The poles supporting the cage are very heavy, and need to be robust to take the force of the projectile. Those poles need to be assembled in a way that ensures they can’t fall, but this didn’t happen.
The case still, however, took nearly a decade to reach a conclusion, and illustrates the volume of work necessary to prosecute a case to be sure of a conviction, and was undoubtedly complicated by the corporate governance of UKA and the role of its head of sport, Keith Davies.
It was reported that UKA tried to deflect blame on Mr Davies and the venue. No doubt it would have been a quicker process for all concerned, including importantly Abdullah’s family, had they come clean from the start.
It is hoped that as soon as the news of this accident was announced in 2017, every athletics facility across the UK rushed to check their equipment was safe, and it is hoped they still check their equipment on a regular basis to this day.
Source of Information
BBC News Online