Wrestlers · Career complete
Afsoon Johnston
First American woman to win a World wrestling medal (bronze, 47 kg, 1989); World silver in 1990; 3x U.S. Open champion
San Jose, CA · Independence HS · University of California, Davis
By Joe Spisak, Pennsylvania state champion and 4x NCAA qualifier at Virginia · Published September 10, 2026
Afsoon Roshanzamir Johnston was born in Iran in the early 1970s, the only child of a wrestler who taught her moves in the living room while her mother refereed. Her parents moved the family out of a country at war to San Jose, California, in 1983, when she was 11.
She joined the cheerleading squad in high school, spent a winter cheering for the boys' wrestling team, then walked up to the coach in her cheerleading uniform at 98 pounds and asked to try out. She won her spot by beating the team's starting varsity wrestler at her weight, and she stayed on the varsity team, the first girl in the South Bay to wrestle in high school. Her coach was David Chaid.
In 1989, still in high school, she went with Chaid to a trials tournament run by Lee Allen and wrestled adult women for a place on the first United States women's freestyle World team. She made it. At the championships in Martigny, Switzerland, she lost 4-2 to eventual runner-up Tomoko Natsumeda of Japan, then took the bronze at 47 kg, about 104 pounds. As the lightest American in the medal rounds, she became the first U.S. medalist at a Women's World Championships. Teammates Asia DeWeese at 50 kg and Leia Kawaii at 70 kg won silver, three medals in the first Women's Worlds the country entered.
She added a World silver in 1990 and wrestled on the men's team at UC Davis. She made four U.S. World Teams, placing fifth in 1992, and won three U.S. Open titles with international medals in France, Russia, Poland and Canada. She retired in 2000 and finished a master's in physical therapy the same year. USA Wrestling brought her back to coach in 2012, and in 2016 she worked the Rio Olympics, the Games where an American woman first won wrestling gold. She still coaches and practices physical therapy.
She is in the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame, inducted with the class of 2025 as a women's wrestling trailblazer, and she still coaches and practices physical therapy.
Results
| Season | Level | Event | Weight | Place | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | High school | Independence High School varsity wrestling, San Jose | varsity team member | Coached by David Chaid, father of NCAA champion Dan Chaid; she asked to try out in her cheerleading uniform at 98 pounds and earned her spot by beating the team's starting varsity wrestler at her weight; the first girl in the South Bay to wrestle in high school. USA Wrestling says she made her first U.S. Senior World freestyle team while still competing for Independence. Wrestle Like A Girl says she had finished her junior year before the 1989 trials while the ATSU feature puts the Worlds in her senior year, so no graduation year is recorded here. | |
| 1989 | Senior | U.S. women's World Team trials tournament run by Lee Allen | 47 kg | made the team | Wrestled adult women while still in high school and made the first U.S. women's freestyle World team |
| 1989 | Senior | World Championships, Martigny, Switzerland | 47 kg | 3rd | 1-1. Lost 4-2 to eventual runner-up Tomoko Natsumeda (Japan), then took the bronze over Sandra Schumaker (Switzerland); the first U.S. medalist at a Women's World Championships, as the lightest American in the medal rounds; teammates Asia DeWeese (50 kg) and Leia Kawaii (70 kg) won silver for three U.S. medals in the first Women's World Championships the country entered; the U.S. team of five was coached by Rusty Davidson and Pavel Katsen |
| 1990 | Senior | World Championships | 2nd | Second career World medal | |
| 1990s | College | UC Davis varsity men's wrestling team | team member | Earned a bachelor of science in kinesiology and exercise science at UC Davis while training with the men's team; she also officiated locally and once refereed a college men's dual when the assigned official did not appear | |
| 1989-2000 | Senior | U.S. Open national championships | 1st | Three career U.S. Open titles | |
| 1989-2000 | Senior | U.S. World Teams | four-time member | Four career World Teams, including a fifth place at the 1992 World Championships; international medals in the United States, France, Russia, Poland and Canada; retired from competition in 2000 | |
| 2000 | Senior | Retirement from competition | Retired in 2000 and completed a master of science degree in physical therapy the same year; women's wrestling entered the Olympics four years later | ||
| 2014 | Senior | U.S. Women's World Team coaching staff, Tashkent | coach | The United States placed third as a team with three individual medalists; she remained in USA Wrestling's women's coaching pool | |
| 2016 | Senior | Olympic Games, Rio de Janeiro | U.S. coach | The first Olympic Games at which the United States won a gold medal in women's wrestling | |
| 2025 | Senior | San Jose Sports Hall of Fame | inductee | Class of 2025, honored as a women's wrestling trailblazer |
What we could not confirm
Anything not on this page, a high school record, a final score, a season, was left out because no primary source stated it when this was written. If you have a bracket, a program, or a clipping, send it and the page gets the number.
Sources
- https://wrestlelikeagirl.org/afsoon-johnston-bio · Born in Iran, daughter of wrestler Manu Roshanzamir; family lived in Germany and Austria, returned to Iran in 1979 and left in 1983 for San Jose; joined the Independence High School team as a freshman under coach David Chaid, father of NCAA champion Dan Chaid; made the first U.S. women's World team at 47 kg in 1989 at a trials run by Lee Allen after her junior year; 1989 Worlds in Martigny, Switzerland: lost 4-2 to Tomoko Natsumeda of Japan, won her second bout over Sandra Schumaker of Switzerland, took bronze and became the first U.S. medalist at a Women's World Championships; teammates Asia DeWeese (50 kg) and Leia Kawaii (70 kg) won silver; coaches Rusty Davidson and Pavel Katsen; 1990 World silver; wrestled on the UC Davis men's team; four U.S. World Teams, three U.S. Open titles, medals in France, Russia and Canada; Sunkist Kids; retired in 2000; married Byron Johnston in 1998; USA Wrestling board through 2003; physical therapist; 2014 U.S. women's World Team coach in Tashkent. This page spells the Japanese opponent Tomoku; FloWrestling's roll of Japanese World teamers spells her Tomoko, which is used here.
- https://sjsa.org/afsoon-roshanzamir-johnston/ · Immigrated to San Jose with her family in 1983 at age 11; joined the boys' team at Independence High School as the South Bay's first female high school competitor; earned a spot on the first U.S. national women's wrestling team in 1989 and won World bronze; 1990 World silver; retired in 2000; USA coach at the 2016 Rio Games; inducted into the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame with the class of 2025
- https://www.atsu.edu/news/an-iranian-girls-american-dream · Born in Iran in the early 1970s, an only child whose father taught her wrestling in the family living room while her mother refereed; the family immigrated when she was 11 and she spoke no English; she joined the cheerleading team in high school, then asked the wrestling coach to try out while in her cheerleading uniform at 98 pounds and won her spot by beating the team's starting varsity wrestler in her weight class; earned a bachelor of science in kinesiology and exercise science at UC Davis while training with the men's team; earned a master of science in physical therapy in 2000 and retired from competition that year; USA Wrestling brought her back in 2012 as a coach and physical therapist; coached at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the first Games at which the U.S. won gold in women's wrestling; continues coaching and practicing physical therapy
- https://www.themat.com/news/2014/august/27/conti-and-johnston-named-womens-world-team-coaches · USA Wrestling's 2014 World Team coaching release: first American woman to win a World medal, 1989 bronze at Martigny and 1990 silver; four U.S. World teams including a fifth place at the 1992 World Championships; three U.S. Open titles and two seconds; second at the World Team Trials twice; international medals in the USA, France, Russia, Poland and Canada; competed on the men's team at UC Davis and on the varsity team at Independence High School in San Jose; 'She made her first U.S. Senior World freestyle team while still competing in high school'; first woman to referee a Division I wrestling match; 2001 Pan American and Junior World team coach
- https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/14593390-every-womens-freestyle-world-and-olympic-teamer-from-japan · FloWrestling's roll of every Japanese women's freestyle World and Olympic teamer lists the 1989 47 kg silver medalist as Tomoko Natsumeda, correcting the Tomoku spelling in the Wrestle Like A Girl bio
- https://nwhof.org/news/50-u-s-women-s-wrestling-milestones-to-celebrate-50th-anniversary-of-title-ix · National Wrestling Hall of Fame milestones page: 'Afsoon Roshanzamir wins the first World medal for USA Wrestling, a bronze at 47 kg. The USA wins three medals, with silver medals from Asia de Weese (50 kg) and Leia Kawaii (70 kg). This was the first Women's World Championships in which Team USA had entered.'
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