Kellogg ended her successful partnership with Clark - which included lifting the European title in 2008 and winning the silver medals at the World Championships in 2006 -  in November after a career spent battling foot and back injuries.
 
Clark, 32, is a few months older than Kellogg but has already started a new partnership with 23-year-old Eastbourne player Heather Olver and they are due to make their debut at the Proton Malaysia Open, which starts on January 19.

Clark said: "I think there are a lot of athletes who would retire before 2012 if not for the fact that the Olympics are in London.
 
"I don't think I would have planned to carry on until the age of 34, which is how old I will be in 2012.

"It is definitely an extra incentive and something that spurs me on."

Clark is also continuing his doubles partnership with Nathan Robertson, the 2004 Olympic silver medallist and 2006 world champion, whose partner Gail Emms retired after the Beijing Games in 2008.

He said: "I am still loving it and training as hard as ever, if not more so.

"I'm not getting any younger and, as you get older, you have to train harder and smarter than before.

"I'm enjoying myself and I've got every intention to carry on until London 2012.

"Whether than will be in the men's doubles, mixed or both remains to be seen.

"The motivation is still there and Nathan says he feels the same.

"Neither of us are getting any younger [Robertson is also 32], so we will take it a year at a time.

"We have got the Commonwealth Games [in New Delhi] this year, in October, so we will evaluate again after that.

"If I didn't think I could still be successful, I would stop.

"I am not just hanging on in there - I want to be winning tournaments and picking up medals.

"We have done it before and there is no reason why we can't do it again, as long as we can stay healthy and fit.

"When I have got no chance of doing that, I will say 'enough is enough' and I'm sure the same goes for Nathan.

"Myself and Nathan are the elder statesman of the England team.

"There is a big gap between us and the next group of players – nearly a decade, in fact.

"There have been a lot of retirements in the past few years, so we are the last of our era.

"I am always willing to give advice to help the younger players. I'm not afraid of them becoming better than me.

"I want English badminton to be the best in the world and I will have no problem stepping aside when the next generation are too good for me."


Related stories
December 2009: Clark and Olver form new partnership
November 2009: England badminton star Kellogg retires