Pritchard was the first Indian athlete to participate in the Olympics and was also the first Asian to win an Olympic medal. In the 1900 Summer Olympics held in Paris, he won two silver medals, in the 200m run and in the 200m hurdles. Pritchard had set a world record in the second heat of the 200 metre hurdles, which was bettered by Alvin Kraenzlein from America in the final. Pritchard won the Bengal province 100 yards sprint title for seven consecutive years from 1894 to 1900 and set a meet record in 1898-99. He also won the 440 yards run and the 120 yards hurdles. A student of Saint Xaviers College, Calcutta, he also claims the fame of scoring the first hattrick in an open football tournament in India, for Saint Xavier`s against Sovabazar in July 1897.

He served as Secretary of the Indian Football Association from 1900 to 1902. He moved permanently to England in 1905. He later moved to the United States where he became a silent movie actor under the screen name Norman Trevor. He acted alongside Hollywood legends like Ronald Colman in movies like Beau Geste(1927) and Tonight At Twelve(1929). He also appeared in several Broadway shows. However, he died in Los Angeles of a brain malady.