Pribilinec competed for the former Czechoslovakia at the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul, South Korea where he won the gold medal in the men's 20 kilometre walk event.

He had previously shown his developing talent as a youngster with a win at the 1979 European Athletics Junior Championships.

[3] Before retiring, he represented Slovakia at the 1993 World Championships in Athletics, placing 17th in the men's 20 km walk.

[5] In 1994, Pribilinec was elected as an MP into National Council running as a candidate on a party list of Common Choice coalition.

[7] In 2022, Pribilinec ran unsuccessfully for a post of a regional deputy of Banská Bystrica Region as a candidate of minor extra-parliamentary national party Heart within the Žiar nad Hronom District precinct, with sport, tourism and service sector development, as his main agenda.