An Old Bailey judge has slapped UK Athletics with a £350,000 fine and £44,000 costs after a paralympic shot‑putter died at a Newham training site in 2017. Abdullah Hayayei, a 36‑year‑old wheelchair athlete with cerebral palsy, was crushed when a metal cage collapsed while he prepared for the World Championships. The court described the incident as wholly avoidable.

Judge Richard Marks KC called the death tragic and untimely, then sentenced former UKA head of sport Keith Davies to 175 hours of community service for overseeing equipment assembly that omitted critical base plates. A gust of wind knocked the unsecured cage over, killing Hayayei with head injuries. The court noted the accident was “waiting to happen” given repeated safety lapses.

UK Athletics pleaded guilty to corporate manslaughter and accepted liability for the breach, a decision that followed a decade‑long investigation uncovering the same faulty cage at multiple events. The organization, which reported a £13.8 million turnover in 2025, was given six years to pay the fine in instalments. The ruling underscores the sport’s legal exposure and pressures governing bodies to enforce rigorous safety protocols.