At 36 she is the oldest winner of the award and with this being her eighth time to take the crown - she also won in 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 - she "sets a benchmark that may never be surpassed", according to the FIH.

Since taking up the sport at the age of seven, Aymar has gone on to become a double World Cup winner, triple Pan American Games champion and four-time Olympic medallist - she is only the second Argentine to achieve that number of Games medals alongside sailor Carlos Mauricio Espínola.

The last 12 months have seen her playing a crucial role in helping her nation secure the Pan American Cup, while also topping the FIH world rankings.

Aymar fought off competition from her compatriot Carla Rebecchi, German Tina Bachmann, Madonna Blyth of Australia, England's Alex Danson, three Dutch players - Eva de Goede, Ellen Hoog and Maartje Paumen, South Korean Park Mi Hyun and Kayla Sharland of New Zealand to take the prestigious honour.

She was presented with the 2013 Player of the Year title at a special ceremony during the Argentina Hockey World League Final in San Miguel de Tucumán.

Maria Verschoor (pictured in orange) has won the FIH Talent of the Year award for 2013 ©AFP/Getty Images

Also honoured at the event was Dutch 19-year-old Maria Verschoor, named FIH Talent of the Year - the award given the sport's most outstanding player aged 21 or younger - following her performance at the Women's Hockey Junior World Cup in Mönchengladbach, Germany, where her nation took the title.

This year also marked the start of her senior career after she made her debut against Australia in February and is currently featuring on the Netherlands squad competing at the Hockey World League.

The winners of the FIH awards are selected by an expert voting panel of coaches, athletes and media professionals, who are allowed to nominate a maximum of five candidates - and a maximum of one nominee from their own team or country in each category - for the two titles.

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