Australia's Jamie Dwyer and Luciana Aymar of Argentina have been honoured by their fellow players by being voted named 2010 FIH Players of the Year, with Germany's Tobias Hauke and Zhao Yudiao of China winning the FIH Young Player of the Year Awards.
The FIH Player of the Year Awards Ceremony took place at a Gala Dinner for the FIH Congress and Forum, which is currently taking place in Montreux, Switzerland.
It was a fourth FIH Men's Player of the Year title for dazzling attacker Jamie Dwyer, having won the Award in 2004, 2007 and 2009. Dwyer inspired the Kookaburras team to the Gold Medal in the FIH World Cup, FIH Champions Trophy, and the Commonwealth Games.
For Luciana Aymar, it was a record 7th title, an achievement which may never be bettered. It rounded off a stunning year for the golden girl of Argentinean hockey, who like Dwyer was also a World Cup winner in 2008.
More information about the winning players can be found below.
FIH Men's Player of the Year 2010
Jamie Dwyer (AUS)
Australia captain Jamie Dwyer has been voted FIH Men's Player of the Year for a record fourth time, moving one ahead of HC Bloemendaal team mate Teun de Nooijer.
Dwyer inspired the Kookaburras team to the Gold Medal in the FIH World Cup, FIH Champions Trophy, and the Commonwealth Games. He has been in magnificent form for Australia in 2010, and this fourth FIH Men's Player of the Year Award can be added to the FIH Men's Young of the Year Award that he won in 2002.
Dwyer aims to continue playing until at least the London 2012 Olympics, where he hopes to add a second Gold medal to the one he claimed at Athens 2004. Dwyer was presented with the FIH Men's Player of the Year title on 12 November, the birthday of his father.
FIH Women's Player of the Year 2010
Luciana Aymar (ARG)
Considered by many to be the greatest female hockey player of her generation, Luciana Aymar has been named as the Women's Player of the Year for an incredible seventh time.
Aymar has had a simply sensational year on the field, winning the Samsung FIH Champions Trophy in Nottingham before producing a number of awe-inspiring performances to help Las Leonas to glory at the BDO FIH World Cup in her home city of Rosario, Argentina.
Fittingly, Aymar lifted the World Cup Trophy on the same day that she won her 300th international cap, and was also named as the Player of the Tournament.
FIH Men's Young Player of the Year 2010
Tobias Hauke (GER)
Already an Olympic Gold medallist, Tobias Hauke was a key player in the Germany team that reached the final of the Hero Honda FIH World Cup in India earlier this year.
Hauke is a skilful and industrious midfielder, having already claimed over 130 caps for Germany despite being just 23 years old. In 2009 he helped his club team Rot-Weiss K├Âln claim Germany's Bundesliga, and has recently made the move to Havesthuder THC.
Hauke is hugely respected on and off the field by players and coaches alike, and his stunning ability has been recognised by winning the FIH Men's Young Player of the Year Award.
FIH Women's Young Player of the Year 2010
Zhao Yudiao (CHN)
China's Zhao Yudiao made a real name for herself this year thanks to superb individual performances at the Samsung FIH Champions Trophy and the BDO FIH World Cup.
The 21-year-old has already collected an Olympic silver medal (Beijing 2008) and looks to be capable of helping her nation achieve even greater things in the future. Zhao started playing hockey for the ÔÇ£LiaoningÔÇØ team in December 2000, and within five years she was participating in the 2005 FIH Junior World Cup.
In 2007 she made her debut for the China senior team and quickly developed into a key player thanks to her superb attacking play and goals from midfield. Zhao becomes the first ever player from China to win an FIH Player of the Year award.
Past winners:
Men
1998 Stephan Veen (NED)
1999 Jay Stacy (AUS)
2000 Stephan Veen (NED)
2001 Florian Kunz (GER)
2002 Michael Green (GER)
2003 Teun de Nooijer (NED)
2004 Jamie Dwyer (AUS)
2005 Teun de Nooijer (NED)
2006 Teun de Nooijer (NED)
2007 Jamie Dwyer (AUS)
2008 Pol Amat (ESP)
2009 Jamie Dwyer (AUS)
2010 Jamie Dwyer (AUS)
Women
1998 Alyson Annan (AUS)
1999 Natascha Keller (GER)
2000 Alyson Annan (AUS)
2001 Luciana Aymar (ARG)
2002 Cecilia Rognoni (ARG)
2003 Mijntje Donners (NED)
2004 Luciana Aymar(ARG)
2005 Luciana Aymar (ARG)
2006 Minke Booij (NED)
2007 Luciana Aymar (ARG)
2008 Luciana Aymar (ARG)
2009 Luciana Aymar (ARG) & Naomi van As (NED)
2010 Luciana Aymar (ARG)
Young Men
2001 Tibor Weissenborn (GER)
2002 Jamie Dwyer (AUS)
2003 Grant Schubert (AUS)
2004 Santi Freixa (ESP)
2005 Robert van der Horst (NED)
2006 Christopher Zeller (GER)
2007 Mark Knowles (AUS)
2008 Eddie Ockenden (AUS)
2009 Ashley Jackson (ENG)
2010 Tobias Hauke (GER)
Young Women
2001 Angie Skirving (AUS)
2002 Soledad Garcia (ARG)
2003 Maartje Scheepstra (NED)
2004 Soledad Garcia (ARG)
2005 Maartje Goderie (NED)
2006 Mi Hyun Park (KOR)
2007 Maike Stockel (GER)
2008 Maartje Paumen (NED)
2009 Casey Eastham (AUS)
2010 Zhao Yudiao (CHN)
