{{Short description|Triathlon entrepreneur}} '''Dan Empfield''' (born 1957) is an American entrepreneur in the world of multisport, creator of the triathlon wetsuit in 1987, and the triathlon-specific racing bike in 1989. The original designs were manufactured by the Quintana Roo,<ref>{{cite book|last=Williams|first=Jayne|title=Slow Fat Triathlete: Live Your Athletic Dreams in the Body You Have Now|year=2004|publisher=Marlowe and Company|url=https://archive.org/details/slowfattriathlet0000will|url-access=registration|quote=dan empfield.|location=New York|isbn=1-56924-467-7|page=[https://archive.org/details/slowfattriathlet0000will/page/165 165]}}</ref> which he founded in 1987.
Empfield sold Quintana Roo in 1995 to Saucony<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.slowtwitch.com/headings/sciencebiz/industryold1.html|title=Saucony sells Quintana Roo, Merlin to Litespeed|date=June 30, 2000|access-date=October 3, 2012|publisher=Slowtwitch.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117104445/http://www.slowtwitch.com/headings/sciencebiz/industryold1.html|archive-date=January 17, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> and managed that company's bicycle division until June 1999. He left to start the popular on-line triathlon news and commentary web site Slowtwitch.com, which he owned and managed from 1999 to 2022.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.slowtwitch.com/News/Time_to_Pass_the_Baton_8502.html|title=Time to Pass the Baton|publisher=Slowtwitch.com|date=October 1, 2022|access-date=December 24, 2023}}</ref>
His FIST-based protocol of road and triathlon bicycle fitting<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tri247.com/article_2128.html|title=Instant Interview: Dan Empfield|date=June 15, 2007|access-date=October 3, 2012|publisher=Tri247}}</ref> was the first among today's dynamic bike fit protocols, and he coined the bicycle geometry terms "stack" and "reach" - corresponding, respectively, to the vertical and horizontal distance between the bottom bracket center and head-tube top; these terms helped normalize bike geometries across manufacturers.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Empfield |first1=Dan |title=Stack & Reach Primer: Chapter One |url=https://www.slowtwitch.com/Bike_Fit/Choosing_a_Tri_Bike_via_Stack_and_Reach/Stack_Reach_Primer_Chapter_One_95.html |website=Slowtwitch.com |publisher=Slowtwitch.com |access-date=24 December 2023}}</ref>
Today, Empfield remains an editor-at-large at slowtwitch.com.
Empfield has been inducted into the ''Triathlete'' Magazine Hall of Fame (2004)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.triathletemag.com/story.cfm?story_id=2894&publicationID=92&pageID=1705|work=Triathlete Magazine|title=Triathlete Announces New Inductees to Hall of Fame|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031202233030/http://triathletemag.com/story.cfm?story_id=2894&publicationID=92&pageID=1705|archive-date=December 2, 2003|access-date=October 3, 2012}}</ref> and the USA Triathlon Hall of Fame (2014),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.slowtwitch.com/News/Six_named_to_USAT_Hall_of_Fame_4871.html|work=Slowtwitch.com|title=Six named to USAT Hall of Fame|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205141339/http://www.slowtwitch.com/News/Six_named_to_USAT_Hall_of_Fame_4871.html|archive-date=February 5, 2015|access-date=March 21, 2015}}</ref> has received the World Open Water Swimming Association's (WOWSA) lifetime achievement award (2010),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dailynews.openwaterswimming.com/2010/06/lifetime-achievement-awards-winners.html|title=Lifetime Achievement Awards Winners|date=June 6, 2010|access-date=October 3, 2012|publisher=OpenWaterSwimming.com}}</ref> and was named by ''Inside Triathlon'' as one of the ten most influential people in United States triathlon for 2012<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://triathlon.competitor.com/2012/12/features/inside-triathlons-10-most-influential-people-for-2012-6-dan-empfield_67838|title=Inside Triathlon's 10 Most Influential People For 2012: #6 Dan Empfield|last=Murphy|first=TJ|date=December 14, 2012|access-date=December 28, 2012|work=Inside Triathlon|archive-date=December 21, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121221081237/http://triathlon.competitor.com/2012/12/features/inside-triathlons-10-most-influential-people-for-2012-6-dan-empfield_67838|url-status=dead}}</ref> and 2013. He received Interbike’s Triathlon Industry Leader of the Year award in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.interbike.com/events/awards-night.htm |title=2014 Interbike Awards |last=Gottlieb |first=Justin |date=September 15, 2014 |access-date=September 16, 2014 |work=Interbike.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140916041156/http://www.interbike.com/events/awards-night.htm |archive-date=September 16, 2014 }}</ref> He is a former board member of USA Triathlon.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.usatriathlon.org/~/media/8a46e92ac2f14e5fbf8c0c492f8fc40c.ashx|title=USAT Board of Director Meeting: Thursday Sunday, November 18-21, 2004|date=November 18, 2004|access-date=October 3, 2012|publisher=USA Triathlon|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019061057/http://www.usatriathlon.org/~/media/8a46e92ac2f14e5fbf8c0c492f8fc40c.ashx|archive-date=October 19, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.slowtwitch.com Slowtwitch.com]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Empfield, Dan}} Category:Living people Category:1957 births Category:University of Nevada, Reno alumni Category:American male triathletes Category:20th-century American inventors Category:Inventors from Nevada Category:20th-century American sportsmen
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