The story of Afsoon Roshanzamir Johnston is one of barrier breaking and triumph. A child of war-ravaged Iran, she immigrated to San Jose with her family in 1983 at age 11. Encouraged and tutored by her father, she joined the boys’ wrestling team at Independence High School as the sport’s first South Bay female prep competitor. In 1989, Johnston earned a spot on the USA’s first national women’s wrestling team and won a bronze medal at the World Championships. A 1990 silver medal at the same tournament followed. She retired from competition in 2000, four years before women’s wrestling became an Olympic sport.  In 2016, she was a USA coach at the Rio Games.

Afsoon Roshanzamir Johnston was inducted into the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame in 2025.