It was a gust of wind. That is all it took to bring down a poorly assembled, 25-kilogram metal training cage onto the head of Abdullah Hayayei. He died right there on the grass in Newham, East London. He was 36. A wheelchair shot putter with cerebral palsy, Hayayei had traveled from the United Arab Emirates to compete in the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships. Instead, he went home in a coffin.
Now, the bills are coming due. At the Old Bailey, UK Athletics is being sentenced for corporate manslaughter. Alongside the sporting body sits Keith Davies, 78, the organization’s former head of sport. Davies pleaded guilty to health and safety breaches. Both knew the risks. Or they should have.
The prosecution did not pull punches. John Price KC told the court the training cage was a disaster waiting to happen. It was missing crucial base supports. Bolts were gone. Apparently, this was normal. Price described a ‘culture and practice’ of throwing the heavy structure together without the parts needed to keep it upright. When the wind blew, the cage folded.
Davies claimed he followed the manual. The prosecution called him a liar. Price argued that Davies knew the setup was wrong, making his statements to investigators outright falsehoods.
Then came the human cost. Badriah Rashid Zayed Al-Yahyaei, Hayayei’s widow, watched her life shatter from afar. She was waiting for news of a medal. She got a death notice instead. Now, she raises five young children alone. In a statement read to the court, she called it what it was: gross negligence. Her husband left to represent his country and returned as a corpse.
The corporate response was predictably ugly. Years after the tragedy, UK Athletics produced a legal statement. Price tore it to shreds, calling it a ‘deeply unworthy’ document that the national body should be ashamed of. Why? Because they tried to pin the entire tragedy on Davies. They even tried to blame the Newham venue. Classic corporate buck-passing.
Davies, through his lawyer Mark Balysz KC, claims he is haunted. He says he wakes up every night thinking of the family. The guilt intensified once the manslaughter charges landed. Judge Richard Marks KC will hand down the sentences on Tuesday. A family is ruined. A sporting body is disgraced. All for the sake of a few missing bolts.
