UK Athletics former head of sport Keith Davis has pleaded guilty to a health and safety offence after a throwing cage UAE para athlete Abdullah Hayayei was training in collapsed at Newham Leisure Centre in 2017, reports Marco Marcelline

A former Athletics UK head of sport has pleaded guilty to a health and safety offence today (Friday 20th February), nearly nine years after the para athlete Abdullah Hayayei, 36, died while training for the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships in London.

Keith Davies, 78, of Bushwood, Leytonstone, will face court alongside his former employer UK Athletics, which pleaded guilty to corporate manslaughter over Hayayei’s death.

Hayayei was a professional para-athlete who was in London representing the United Arab Emirates in discus at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships. While training at Newham Leisure Centre in Prince Regent Lane on 11th July 2017, Hayayei was seriously injured after the throwing cage he was training in collapsed.

Police and other emergency services were called, but despite the best efforts of medical staff he was pronounced dead at the scene.

A Met investigation was launched in collaboration with Newham Council’s health and safety team and it was discovered that the stabilising metal lattice base plates of the discus cage were missing.

It was later established that these components – ten ladder like metal connectors linking the cage’s bases and posts – had been missing or unused for around five years, between 2012 and 2017, significantly reducing stability.

The cage base was essential to allow the structure to resist wind forces effectively.

UK Athletics owned the discus cage and was responsible for its safety at its events. Davies was involved in the purchase of the cage before the 2012 London Olympics and led its assembly and use until July 2017.

In November 2017 Davies was interviewed under caution in connection with the investigation. Both he and UK Athletics were then charged in January 2025. They had pleaded not guilty at an earlier hearing in March 2025.

But today (20th February), Davies pleaded guilty to failing to take reasonable care for health and safety, contrary to section 7 (1) and section 33 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

Sentencing will take place on a date to be fixed at the Old Bailey.

Hayayei joined the UAE military after leaving school and aspired to be a paratrooper, but at age 21 he was seriously injured during a parachute training exercise. He was struck on the head by a metal rod connected to a parachute and he required operations to correct nerve damage to his neck, which had caused serious problems with his right hand, arm and leg.

He retired from the military but then took up discus, a sport which he excelled in.

Hayayei competed at the Rio Paralympics in 2016, where he placed seventh in the shot put final and sixth in the javelin. It was his first Paralympics and he had planned on competing in the Tokyo Paralympics four years later.

He competed in the F34 class for athletes with moderate to severe hypertonia (extreme muscle tone, resulting in stiffness or rigidity) in both legs, as well as significant difficulties in standing, balancing and walking.

In a statement UK Athletics said: “We deeply regret that the incident in July 2017 resulted in the tragic loss of Abdullah Hayayei’s life. 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.”

UK Athletics could face a fine of between £1.2m and £5m for corporate manslaughter.

Colin Gibbs, senior specialist prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service’ 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 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 Hayayei’s family, and we hope these convictions bring them some measure of justice.”

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