UK Athletics admits causing death of Paralympian hit on head by pole

UK Athletics has admitted causing the death of a Paralympian who was hit on the head by a metal pole.

Abdullah Hayayei, 36, who represented the United Arab Emirates, was fatally injured at Newham Leisure Centre, east London, while training in 2017.

He was preparing to represent his country in the F34 class discus, javelin and shot put at the World Para Athletics Championships in London when part of a throwing cage fell on him.

Teams and coaches from several nations were present at the time of the tragedy.

The charge said the national governing body for athletics caused the death of Mr Hayayei by "supplying for use... a discus/shot put cage which it used and operated without its base structure and which collapsed" into the Paralympian while he was practising shot putting.

At the Old Bailey on Friday, UK Athletics Ltd admitted corporate manslaughter, having previously denied the charge.

In a statement, the body said it "deeply regrets" the incident, and added: "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."

Keith Davies, who was the head of sport for the 2017 World Paralympics Atheltics Championships, also pleaded guilty to a health and safety charge.

Prosecutor Karen Robinson invited the court to set a two-day sentencing hearing in early June, and he confirmed the prosecution would not seek a trial.

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Colin Gibbs, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said in a statement that 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," he added.

"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."

The Metropolitan Police added that their investigation required detailed engineering expertise to understand the chain of events that led to the tragedy.

It said that officers had examined more than 1,500 documents, taken around 160 statements, spoken with more than 80 witnesses and collated expert reports.

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