UK Athletics has been charged with manslaughter following the death of Paralympian Abdullah Hayayei, who tragically passed away in July 2017.
Hayayei, 36, was killed when a metal cage fell on him while he was training at the Newham Leisure Centre in London.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has charged UK Athletics Limited with “corporate manslaughter and a health and safety at work act offence.”
Keith Davies, who served as the head of sport for the 2017 World Para-athletics Championships, has also been charged with “gross negligence manslaughter and a health and safety at work act offence.”
Both UK Athletics and Davies, aged 77, are scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on January 31.
At the time of the incident, Hayayei was training for the World Championships in London, where he had been preparing to compete in the F34 shot put, discus, and javelin events.
Hayayei, a father of five, had previously made his Paralympic debut in Rio 2016, finishing sixth in the javelin and seventh in the shot put.
London 2017 was set to be his second World Championships appearance, after a strong performance at the 2015 event in Doha, Qatar, where he placed fifth in the discus and eighth in the shot put.
A moment of silence was held in Hayayei’s memory during the opening ceremony of the World Championships at London Stadium.
