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WASHINGTON. – German sportswear giant Adidas sparked a social media outcry on Tuesday after sending an e-mail congratulating runners in the Boston Marathon for having “survived” the race. The choice of words jarred as memories remain fresh of the 2013 deadly bombing of the event in the Massachusetts city. “Congrats, you survived the Boston Marathon!” Adidas said in the subject line of an e-mail it sent to the 26 492 participants who finished the annual race on Monday.

The e-mail instantly set off a furor on social media, where many people published screen grabs of the e-mail and denounced its offensive nature. The official Twitter account of Adidas North America, with the handle @adidasUS, rushed to apologise. – AFP.