In preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Klassen decided not to participate in the fall races for the Speed Skating World Cup. She returned to competition in 2008 but decided to cut the skating season short in February 2008 after her sister was in a near-fatal accident. She also said that she will only focus on the World Single Distance Championships. Defending her all-around title and high World Cup classifications are not her main goal for the season. Later that year in July 2008 Klassen had surgery to repair damage done to her knees over her career and in high school basketball. The surgeries would keep her from competing in the 2008–09 World Cup. Sometime later in 2009, her doctor discussed her knees saying that "These things don't go away, they're not cured. It's not like a broken bone that once it's healed it's back to good strength and can take stress. It's not like that. It's never going to be perfectly normal. It's not possible to get that." He later added that the only way her knees would stop degenerating would be for Klassen to stop speed skating.