Australia did not win a medal on Sunday, slipping to 24th on the table with seven days of competition to go.
With one gold medal, 12 silver and seven bronze, Australia's 2012 Olympians are shaping as the worst performing team in two decades.
But the athletes have defended their clutch of silvers and dearth of gold.
Long jumper Mitchell Watt, who won silver on Saturday night after going into the Games as a gold medal favourite, lashed out at the Australian media for being too critical.
"People need to start understanding that it's not easy to win an Olympic gold medal and there's absolutely nothing wrong with a silver medal," Watt said.
"The first question I got was `a disappointing result?' The team's happy, I'm happy, the coach is happy, I've got thousands of messages back home that they're happy and the only people that aren't happy are you guys (the media).
"So you need to wake up."
Campbell, part of Australia's only gold medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay way back on the first day of competition, said the athletes were giving their all.
"I think it's maybe almost a little bit hurtful to say we've been underperforming because we go out there and pour our heart and soul into every single performance," she said.
"It's not that we haven't been performing, it's just that the world has stepped up."
But things should pick up in the next few days, with the sailors to the fore.
Tom Slingsby is poised to win the Laser class with a big lead going into Monday's medal race.
Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen could wrap up the gold medal in the 49er skiff class on Monday after winning both races on Sunday to take a commanding 20-point lead.
If they end Monday's racing with at least a 19-point lead they will mathematically secure gold and just need to compete in Wednesday's medal race to rubber-stamp victory.
Australia remains on course for four gold medals at the regatta as Malcolm Page and Mathew Belcher in the men's 470 and Olivia Price's women's match race crew also lead their classes.
Another pair of Australians will be hoping perfection leads to gold.
Show jumper Edwina Tops-Alexander put on another flawless display on board Itot Du Chateau to be among six show jumpers ranked equal first, while Australia is ranked fifth in the team event.
Michael Diamond is aiming for a third Olympic men's trap shooting gold medal as he hit every target in the opening three rounds to lead the field going into the remaining two rounds and final on Monday.
Teenager Steve Solomon vindicated his selection as he became the first Australian man in 24 years to qualify for an Olympic 400m final, running a personal best 44.97 seconds in his semi.
Track cyclist Glenn O'Shea slipped from first to fifth in the last two legs of the six-discipline omnium on Sunday, while Shane Perkins is through to the semis and Anna Meares the quarter-finals of their individual sprints.
Australia's women's water polo team are into the semi-finals after a nailbiting penalty shoot-out win over China in Sunday's quarter-final and the women's basketballers beat Canada to secure second place in their group and set up a quarter-final against China.
And Britain continues to taunt Australia in all sports, coming back from 3-0 down in the men's hockey to draw 3-3, with one pool game left.
