UK Athletics has admitted corporate manslaughter over the death of Paralympic athlete Abdullah Hayayei, who was killed during a training session in London in 2017.
Hayayei, 36, died in July 2017 after a metal throwing cage collapsed on him at Newham Leisure Centre while he was preparing for the World Para-athletics Championships. The governing body entered a guilty plea at the Old Bailey, having previously denied the charge.
According to BBC Sport, the Head of Sport for the 2017 championships, Keith Davies, also pleaded guilty to a health and safety offence. A sentencing hearing is expected to take place in early June.
Prosecutor Karen Robinson asked the court to set aside two days for sentencing, confirming that the prosecution would not pursue a trial and that outstanding charges would be addressed at the conclusion of the hearing. Davies, 78, was granted continued bail on the condition that he liaise with the Probation Service for a pre-sentence report.
Hayayei, a father of five from the United Arab Emirates, had competed at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, finishing sixth in the javelin and seventh in the shot put on his Paralympic debut. He was due to compete in the F34 shot put, discus, and javelin events at the London championships.
London 2017 was set to be his second World Championships appearance, having finished fifth in the discus and eighth in the shot put at the 2015 championships in Doha, Qatar. Following his death, a moment of silence was observed in his honour during the opening ceremony at London Stadium.
