Adidas in hot water for ‘Congrats, you survived the Boston Marathon!’ email, issues apology

Adidas issued an apology over an email sent to the 26,492 participants who finished the annual race Monday with subject line that read "Congrats, you survived the Boston Marathon!" Customers took to social media to remind the sports apparel company about the real survivors of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.

The sportswear giant said it was "incredibly sorry" for the "insensitive" subject line that referred to Monday's race. In a statement to Time, Adidas recognised that there was clearly no thought given to the email subject line it sent on Tuesday.

"We deeply apologise for our mistake,” the statement reads, adding that the Boston Marathon is among the most inspirational sporting events in the world. It said it is reminded of the hope and resiliency of the running community every year.

Patrick Downes and Marc Fucarile, two survivors from the 2013 deadly bombing of the event in Massachusetts, joined this year’s race. On April 15, 2013, pressure-cooker bombs were planted by brothers of Chechen descent, Tamerlan and Dzokhar Tsarnaev, near the Boston Marathon finish line which took the lives of three people and left 260 wounded.

Several Twitter users posted a screenshot of the subject line from Adidas Running that invited them to share their Boston Marathon experience and shop for gear and called out the wording. “Someone in the marketing department at @Adidas is going to get fired hard for the subject of this email,” a Twitter user wrote while some netizens have anticipated an apology from the company.

Someone in the marketing department at @Adidas is going to get fired hard for the subject of this email. pic.twitter.com/JqXoZnZQla
— Ross Bolen (@WRBolen) April 18, 2017

The Monday’s event was also joined by Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon in 1967. Now aged 70, she completed the race in four hours, 44 minutes and 31 seconds in her "full regalia,” wearing the same number, 261, she wore fifty years ago when she entered under the name K.V. Switzer.

This time, Switzer runs with over 12,300 women, including members of an organisation called 261 Fearless Boston Marathon Team, which she initiates to empower women after the 1967 event. Based on the data from Running USA, female runners make up fifty seven percent of participants in running events in 2015.

"I finished, like I did 50 years ago. We are here to change the life of women,” she wrote on Facebook after the race. She told NESN that she always thinks that a 20-year-old girl who simply wanted to run has inspired and created opportunities for other women.