to all the people in this thread who are defending the track read the Globe and Mail article, people right inside the sport, not outsiders, have had serious concerns about the track's design and speed and the potential for disaster. The track for the next winter Olympics is going to be 20 km/sec SLOWER than this track in Whistler - they aren't do that for no reason.
It's also true that these are very dangerous sports, this isn't the first death and won't be the last.
Padding
Netting would work in some situations but not in his situation - the pole got him, netting wouldn't have helped him.
Track designer/architects need to design a track where there aren't poles above the track. seem logical to me and doable.
I'm sure the IOC is praying that there's not another serious crash or god forbid another death or these games will go down as a horror show.