Bode Miller can see clearly, now that the pain has gone, where he went wrong in Sunday’s Olympic downhill: He could not see clearly enough.

The most decorated U.S. Olympic Alpine skier of all time, racing in his fifth Games at the age of 36, told reporters on Tuesday that he needed laser eye surgery and should have had it earlier in the season.

Had he done so, the Sochi Games might already have seen Miller re-write the record books instead of being listed as an also-ran with a disappointing eighth place after starting as favorite.