British athletics plead not guilty to manslaughter charges over Paralympian thrower’s death

Abdullah Hayayei competes at the 2015 World Paralympic Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar. (Warren Little/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

LONDON — The governing body for athletics in Britain and a sports official pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges of manslaughter over the death of a Paralympic athlete who was hit on the head by a metal pole during training in 2017.

The 36-year-old thrower Abdullah Hayayei, who represented the United Arab Emirates, was injured at Newham Leisure Centre in east London on July 11, 2017, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

He was training in preparation for 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.

Keith Davies, who the police said was head of sport for the 2017 world paralympic athletics championships, has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter and a health and safety offense, police and the Crown Prosecution Service said in January.

U.K. Athletics, the national governing body, has been charged with corporate manslaughter and a health and safety offense.

An eight-week trial is scheduled to open on Oct. 12, 2026.

The Associated Press