And selfies – lots and lots of selfies. Like most teenagers, McLaughlin documents much of her life online, but in truth it's her achievements more than her approach to social media that has led to her to be being stopped so often by her adoring fans for photos.
But her fans, along with the various shoe companies lining up to sign her into a professional contract, think otherwise.
Whether it's in her hometown in Dunellen, New Jersey, on the college campus in Lexington, Kentucky or through the torrent of support flowing her way on social media, McLaughlin is acutely aware of the level of fame she has accrued over the past two years.
In that sense, the decision McLaughlin made in 2017 shines as a bright example, particularly in an era when so many talented young sportspeople make their decisions based on the bottom line.
As the sport's most marketable teenager – McLaughlin has a social media following in the hundreds of thousands – she had lucrative offers to turn professional after a decorated high school career, but instead she chose to accept a scholarship to the University of Kentucky to run as an amateur in the NCAA.
"Making the decision to go pro is a very big one and I think I'm not at that point yet," she says. "I wanted to get the experience of being a college kid, to walk on the campus and have the freedom away from my parents, to live a normal life but still get to run.
At Kentucky, McLaughlin trains with a strong collegiate team under the guidance of coach Edrick Floreal, who also coaches 100m hurdles world record-holder Keni Harrison, Olympic 110m hurdles champion Omar McLeod and world 400m hurdles champion Kori Carter.
Her routine is indicative of an all-in approach to the new environment, and McLaughlin's life is far from that of your typical freshman. She wakes at 6am, hits the weight room at 7am, then has physical therapy before a day of classes (McLaughlin plans to major in journalism).
After that, she joins her teammates at practice, then she'll squeeze in more treatment before dinner, and her evenings are spent either with her tutor or in study hall. "I've been to zero parties," she says.
Late last year McLaughlin took time out to fly to Monaco with her older brother Taylor for the IAAF Athletics Awards, where she was presented with a gold plaque to commemorate the world U20 400m hurdles record she set earlier that year, clocking 53.82 to finish sixth at the US Championships in Sacramento.
Given the blazing speed of that run, it seems fair to ask McLaughlin if it was the closest she's come to the perfect race, but she's quick to set the record straight.
But McLaughlin, at least in the short term, will now turn her back on her best event.
That approach is already starting to pay off. During the indoor season she set a world U20 indoor 300m best of 36.12, a world U20 indoor 400m record of 50.36 and a 200m PB of 22.68 to move to fourth on the world U20 indoor all-time list.
More recently, she opened her outdoor campaign last weekend with a 22.39 and 50.07 sprint double at the Florida Relays, taking her to fourth and sixth respectively on the world U20 200m and 400m all-time lists.
For any teenager, moving 700 miles away from home and her family could be a trying time, but McLaughlin has settled in well to the new surroundings. "My parents ask if I'm homesick and I keep saying no, so I think they're pretty upset with me," she says.
Of course, she makes sure to stay in constant contact with them, and indeed older brother Taylor, who has a best of 49.45 for 400m hurdles which he ran to take silver at the IAAF World U20 Championships Bydgoszcz 2016.
Both siblings were brought to the sport in their youth by their father, Willie, a 45.30 400m runner. "We didn't take it too seriously; my father just made sure we enjoyed the sport," says Taylor, who is based 300 miles north of Sydney at the University of Michigan.
And while Sydney is getting stuck in to her first foray into NCAA competition, she'll also have the chance to chase gold – and thereby outdo her older brother – at the IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018.
But few, of course, have progressed as fast as McLaughlin, who is adamant that in the years to come, her work ethic, attitude and ambition will continue to match her otherworldly talent.