Kenyan lawmakers observed a minute's silence on Tuesday in honour of marathon star Kelvin Kiptum after his death in a late-night car crash, and appealed for better support protection for the country's sporting talent.

Kiptum, who smashed the world marathon record last year, was killed along with his Rwandan coach in the accident near his home in the Eldoret area of Kenya's Rift Valley on Sunday.

His death at the age of just 24 shocked his homeland and the world of athletics, with his compatriot, the marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge, leading tributes to the "rising star".