Tyler Bradt (born June 2, 1986) is an American whitewater kayaker known for kayaking Palouse Falls.
Born and raised in Stevensville, Montana, Tyler Bradt was first introduced to kayaking at only six years of age by his father, Bill Bradt. Tyler's skills seemed to be above average as he kayaked class five rapids only six years later at the age of twelve. By age fifteen, he was a kayaking prodigy, receiving national recognition for his abilities. In July of 2001, Tyler was invited to kayak rapids in Norway. While on this trip, Tyler had a near death experience when he was flipped and pinned up against a rock under the force of the water. To this day he still calls it "the closest call he's ever had". Tyler has appeared in several films, holds sponsors from NRS, KAVU, Smith, Dagger, At Paddle, Tribe, and Voke Tab. He has gone on kayaking expeditions and holds the record for the highest waterfall kayaked at 186 ft.
On April 21, 2009, Bradt successfully kayaked Palouse Falls in Washington state. At an estimated 186 feet (57 m), this made Bradt's descent a world record, breaking the previous record set by a Brazilian kayaker named Pedro Oliva who ran the 127-foot (39 m) Salto Belo of the Rio Sacre just a month before. In turn, Oliva's descent of Salto Belo broke Bradt's previous record of 107 feet (33 m) from 2007 over Alexandra Falls on the Hay River in the Northwest Territories. Bradt's plunge attracted media attention since the Palouse Falls are 17 feet (5.2 m) taller than Niagara Falls. His media agent sold both pictures and video of Bradt's descent to Sports Illustrated. On May 18, 2009, the first published photos appeared in the magazine along with video footage on SI's website. Bradt and kayaker/film maker/friend Rush Sturges used footage of the plunge in their 2010 collaborative film, Dream Result.