Jozef Pribilinec (; born 6 July 1960) is a Slovak

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete who mainly competed in

racewalking Race walking, or racewalking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully asses ...

. He was born in

Kopernica Kopernica (; ) is a village and municipality in Žiar nad Hronom District in the Banská Bystrica Region of central Slovakia. Etymology The name comes from ''koper'' ( Slovak koper, kôpor: dill) + ''-nica''. "The land where the wild dill grows ...

. Pribilinec competed for the former

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

held in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

where he won the gold medal in the men's 20 kilometre walk event. He represented Czechoslovakia for most of his career and in addition to his Olympic gold, won two silver medals at the

World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships, known as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics until 2019, are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations. Alongside Olympic ...

(1983 and 1987) and one gold and one silver at the

European Athletics Championships The European Athletics Championships is a biennial (from 2010) athletics event organised by the European Athletic Association and is recognised as the elite continental outdoor athletics championships for Europe. Editions First held, for me ...

for his country. He was a two-time champion at the

European Athletics Indoor Championships The European Athletics Indoor Championships is a biennial indoor track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skil ...

, winning in 1987 and 1988 over distances of 3000 m and 5000 m, respectively. He was a four-time participant at the

IAAF World Race Walking Cup The World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships is a racewalking event organised by World Athletics. It has been held since 1961, and generally on a biennial basis. The first women's edition of the event happened in 1979. It was formerly know ...

and his best performance was a win over 20 km at the 1983 IAAF World Race Walking Cup, becoming his country's first victor at the competition. He had previously shown his developing talent as a youngster with a win at the 1979 European Athletics Junior Championships. His personal best time of 1:19:30 hours for the 20 km race was a

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

from 24 September 1983 to 3 May 1987. This continued a tradition of Czechoslovak record holders, following in the steps of Václav Balšán and Josef Doležal. Before retiring, he represented Slovakia at the

1993 World Championships in Athletics The 4th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Neckarstadium, Stuttgart, Germany between 13 and 22 August with the participation of 187 nations. Having or ...

, placing 17th in the men's 20 km walk.

Political career

Pribilinec was elected into the House of the People within the Federal Assembly in first free elections of June 1990 as a member of Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS) within the

Communist Party of Czechoslovakia The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia ( Czech and Slovak: ''Komunistická strana Československa'', KSČ) was a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. It was a member of the Com ...

(KSČ). He was elected as a deputy for :sk:Stredoslovenský kraj. He resigned shortly after the election. In

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, Pribilinec was elected as an MP into National Council running as a candidate on a party list of Common Choice coalition. He was nominated by the reformed post-communist SDĽ party, of which he was not a member, however. Ahead of the next elections, in the summer of 2002, Pribilinec fell out with party leader Pavel Koncoš, departed from the party caucus and did not stand for re-election. Concerning his Communist Party membership, Pribilinec said that he entered the party, aged 22, out of conviction, believing in declared values. In 2022, Pribilinec ran unsuccessfully for a post of a regional deputy of

Banská Bystrica Region The Banská Bystrica Region (, ; , ) is one of the eight regions of Slovakia. It is the largest of the eight regions by area, and has a lower population density than any other region. The Banská Bystrica Region was established in 1923; its bord ...

as a candidate of minor extra-parliamentary national party

Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

within the

Žiar nad Hronom District Žiar nad Hronom District () is a Districts of Slovakia, district in the Banská Bystrica Region of central Slovakia. Until 1918, the district was part of the Administrative divisions of the Kingdom of Hungary, county of Tekov. Demographics ...

precinct, with sport, tourism and service sector development, as his main agenda. Of 21 candidates, with 4 elected deputies, Pribilinec came 16th with 954 votes (2%). In the build-up to the elections, he advocated in support of Slovalco aluminium plant in

Žiar nad Hronom Žiar nad Hronom (slang: Žiar, , ; until 1920 ''Svätý Kríž'' and until 1955 ''Svätý Kríž nad Hronom'') is a city in Banská Bystrica Region, Slovakia. Name development The name of the settlement has gone through multiple developments. P ...

, in a campaign seeking financial support for rising energy costs.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pribilinec, Jozef 1960 births Living people People from Žiar nad Hronom District Athletes from the Banská Bystrica Region Slovak male race walkers Czechoslovak male race walkers Olympic gold medalists for Czechoslovakia Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Czechoslovakia World record setters in athletics (track and field) World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships athletes for Czechoslovakia World Athletics Championships athletes for Slovakia Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships winners World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists Members of the National Council (Slovakia) 1992–1994 Party of the Democratic Left (Slovakia) politicians Communist Party of Slovakia (1939) politicians Slovak communists Competitors at the 1984 Friendship Games Czechoslovak Athletics Championships winners