Rancourt and Company has made shoes for American athletes to wear in past Olympic ceremonies, but after the mass shooting in Lewiston, the job takes on added meaning this year.
It’s the soul of Lewiston, Maine, on display in Paris. But before Team USA athletes could walk in these very special white suede shoes, their journey began at a New England factory.
"It's a shock when all of sudden you see it and there's a picture of them and they're dressed in their uniform and there's our shoes on their feet, it's fabulous," said Mike Rancourt, owner of Rancourt and Company.
The Lewiston-based company was asked to create a shoe for all 592 American athletes for the opening and closing ceremonies.
Rancourt leads the company that has been in his family for generations.
"At some point, every person in the company had touched the shoes, one way or another, to finish it, bag it, to clean it, whatever it may be," Rancourt said. "Every person was involved."
Polo Ralph Lauren came calling in 2023 and asked Rancourt to come up with a white buck suede design for this year's Olympics. All of the shoes are handmade in the Lewiston factory.
Rancourt said from start to finish, one pair of shoes could be done in about two days.
This isn't the first time Rancourt has made footwear for Team USA athletes. They also wore them in Rio, in Tokyo and in Beijing for the Winter Games.
"People around us, people that don't even know us, coming up and having a conversation with me," Rancourt said. "Most of it relates to how proud they are to live in a community that produce the Olympic shoes."
But this year has even more meaning. The mass shooting that happened not far from the factory just 10 months ago shook this community. Eighteen people died and dozens of others were injured in the October 2023 rampage.
"They've been saddened by it, and they struggle with it, when it comes to thinking in terms of what it means for our community and families," Rancourt said.
He said he wants people to know that resiliency is what Lewiston is all about.
"I know that this is something, producing the Olympic shoes is something that will bring the whole community some satisfaction, that Lewiston will continue, it's resilient, it will be there," Rancourt said.
That feeling has been felt on the factory floor.
"Most definitely," said Brian Pare, a shoemaker. "A lot of pride. Not many people know how to do this anymore."
"In the back of my mind, it represents Lewiston and the good things about Lewiston," Rancourt said. "And there's a lot of good things about Lewiston. But this particular event is really a great view of how Lewiston people come together and create this product and enjoy what we do."
