Officially recognized as a world championship event for men since 1973 (following a unofficial tournament in 1971),
Came as a surprise to see the date for this I thought it was the 1950's or earlier

Bicycle polo ?

Not bicycle polo Fred.
Clue:Most of the champions come from Eastern Europe and Asia

World Class Championship (Track and Field)?

http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/tfn/displayArticle.jsp?id=188

No SR
What you say was going some years before this
clue 2..Women only recently Had their own championship Used to be exclusively a Male Only Sport

Taekwondo?

Another pointer...This was originally a Sideshow event .Still is in most places

Could it be: IAAF World Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international Cross country running. Held annually and organised by International Association of Athletics Federations, it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the International Cross Country Championships.
W

Good try Mozart
Not what I'm looking for winners of the cross country tend always to be African

The sport I'm looking for has more Eastern European Turkish competitors (many Westerners as well)
In a way it is a very fit sport (got it now?)

as nobody came up with the answers and I mislaid the link it in My favorites Have over 1000 archived
and I rediscovered it today in a tidy up

The answer is Powerlifting
Surprising?
http://sportsvl.com/rest/powerlifting.htm