James Johnson

James Lee Johnson (April 24, 1957 – September 8, 2019) was an American Greco-Roman wrestler and coach. As an athlete, he won a gold medal at the Pan American Championships in 1986 and was a member of three US Greco-Roman World Teams. Johnson later served as the head Greco-Roman coach for the Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club and was a coach for the US Greco-Roman 2012 Olympic team.

Johnson was born in Halifax County, North Carolina. He wrestled at D. H. Conley High School in Greenville, North Carolina. In 1976, he became the first wrestling state champion at D. H. Conley. He was also the first athlete from North Carolina to become an All-American at the Junior Greco-Roman Nationals.

He wrestled collegiately at the University of Kentucky from 1977 to 1980. Johnson had a career record of 65–21 and won the Southern Open twice. He was a three-time Southeastern Conference medalist, including second-place finishes at the 1977 and 1980 SEC Championships, and was a member of UK's 1977 SEC championship team. Johnson was elected to the UK Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.

Johnson had remarkable post-collegiate success in Greco-Roman wrestling, winning numerous medals in international senior level competitions and a gold medal at the Pan American Championships in 1986. He would make three US Greco-Roman World Teams. Johnson placed fifth in the 1993 World Wrestling Championships and was winner of USA Wrestling’s first Greco-Roman Wrestler of the Year award in 1993. He also competed at the 1989 World Wrestling Championships and 1994 World Wrestling Championships.

After competing, Johnson coached at dozens of national and international events, including the 2012 Olympics for Team USA, and was on the training staff for the 2016 Olympics. For more than 15 years, he had served as the Greco-Roman head coach for the Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club.

In 2002, the James Johnson Award was founded and is presented annually to the top high school senior wrestler in eastern North Carolina.

In 2007, he was inducted into the North Carolina Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Johnson died in Phoenix, Arizona on September 8, 2019, at the age of 62. He was buried at Homestead Memorial Gardens in Greenville, North Carolina.