For 37 years the Honda Inspiration Award has recognized a female collegiate athlete who has overcome physical or emotional hardship, later returning to athletic achievement. 

Sidney Barbier, a Steamboat Springs native and University of Denver Nordic skier, was named the award winner Tuesday and will be recognized during the 2025 Collegiate Women Sports Awards on Monday. 

Barbier, a recent DU graduate, is the first Pioneer to be honored with the award after conquering years of health challenges due to nutcracker syndrome. 

Barbier was chosen by the CWSA Board of Directors from three national finalists which also included Katie Cosmos (Elms College, softball) and Marlee Morgan (University of Virginia, track and field). 

Barbier’s experience with nutcracker syndrome began as abdominal pain in high school. The pain intensified over the years, making it a challenge to get out of bed some mornings. 

Nutcracker syndrome is a vascular condition that compresses the renal vein, causing severe pain. Barbier felt a sharp stabbing pain in her left side and back with twisting pains in her abdomen and stomach. 

After multiple misdiagnoses and surgeries without comfort, Barbier was diagnosed with nutcracker syndrome in early 2024. She underwent a first-of-its-kind surgery at the Cleveland Clinic by Dr. Mohamed Eltemamy. 

“I am truly honored to be receiving this award and getting the chance to share my story with so many people. It is important to me to act as a voice for all those that are dealing with their own hidden pains,” Barbier said in a news release. “I hope nobody has to go through what I went through, but if they are, I want people to know that there is hope out there.” 

This winter, Barbier competed nearly pain-free in Nordic ski events for the first time since her freshman year of high school. She completed all 10 collegiate races while dealing with a torn hip labrum suffered during the season. 

In her four years with the Pioneers ski team, Barbier finished 37 of her 38 career races, earning top-20 finishes in eight of them. The Pioneers compete in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association, recognized as the toughest conference in collegiate skiing. 

Barbier competed at the conference and NCAA West Regional championships in each of her four seasons, taking 15th in the 5-kilometer classic and 15-kilometer freestyle mass start races in 2022 at Howelsen Hill — her home course. 

On Monday, Barbier will join other members of the CWSA Class of 2025 at the award ceremony held in New York City. 

“Sidney’s perseverance and steadfast advocacy is inspiring to us all,” said Rogan Brown, DU Nordic head coach, in a news release. “Despite dealing with the incredible pain of nutcracker syndrome daily, it did not slow her down and prevent her from being an incredible teammate and friend. Her dedication to the team, her music, the environment and the campus community makes her a true Pioneer, and we can’t wait to see what she does next.”

The journeys of Barbier and the other 2025 finalists’ will be featured in a CBS Sports Network special, “Defying the Odds: The 2025 Honda Inspiration Award,” televised at 4:30 p.m. Monday, leading into the broadcast of the 2025 CWSA at 5 p.m. 

Off the snow, Barbier played the viola in DU’s Lamont Symphony Orchestra and Bluegrass Ensemble. She also published and co-authored an undergraduate sustainability textbook in her junior year. 

She graduated earlier this month with bachelor’s degrees in environmental science and music with a minor in physics. She is the only graduate this year from DU Athletics to ace every course, earning a 4.0 cumulative grade point average. 

Her excellence in the classroom has earned a post-graduate scholarship with the U.S. Fulbright Program, helping her spend the next two years at Universite Grenoble-Alpes in France. She plans to get her master’s degree in Earth, planetary and environmental science. 

“Never give up and trust that there are people out there who will listen, support and advocate for you,” Barbier said. “The award’s name is the Inspiration Award, so to be able to be that inspiration of hope, even for just one person, is a huge honor and is something I don’t take lightly.”