Despite the funding overhaul after the failings at the London Games in 2012, Australia has only won seven gold medals deep in to the second week at Rio and lost many favoured swimming events, but Shipard said she struggles with the nation's and media's disappointments.

"Most people have that kind of attitude as a result of looking at the medal tally," she said.

"Our expectations at times can be too high and we can just be proud that they're over there representing Australia. Perhaps that's just me feeling for them on a level because I can relate to having competed on an international stage, but it's a tough one to see the media coming down on them quite hard."

Shipard will feature on a panel debate with former swimmer Christian Sprenger focusing on the meaning of sport in Australia and how it contributes to culture and identity, and the greater conversation of the Olympics is expected to be prominent.

Sprenger was part of the highly criticised Australian swimming team at the London Games where he won a silver and bronze medal, and he said the public's outrage goes hand-in-hand with modern sport.

"There is always going to be disappointment in sport, it doesn't exist without having that. In anything there is always going to be more disappointment than success because there can only be one winner."

He said the success of past swimmers have set an unfairly high target for the current athletes, especially in the pool.

"We always want to achieve more than we actually do, and that's something that our society has really built up and because of what we've done in history it gets pulled up every single time, even as we perform and as we don't perform we get measured up against our history and that will never change."

Sprenger said this is further advanced because competition across the world is so much greater in modern sport.

"It's easier access to facilities, and because of the international growth of sport anyone from anywhere can go to the United States and go to college and train under the best coaches in the world.

"People from any country can travel to get the training that they need to, so the flexibility of an athlete is not just refined to their own country."

He said the Winning Edge program put in place to target funding to likely medal winning events is "good in theory" but doesn't prepare you for the high pressure of competing in an Olympic final.

"Being in an Olympic final is something else, nothing can prepare you for it. No world championships no nothing, you race the same people but it all happens within the blink of an eye.

"Unfortunately we are tested once every four years, there is very limited media on world championships or Commonwealth Games, but Australia really does take notice at the Olympics and if we do make a mistake we are heavily tortured on it, especially swimming because of the history."

Sprenger and Shipard will be joined in the panel discussion at the National Museum of Australia on Thursday night by author John Harms, rugby player Louise Burrows, Dr Chris Sarra from the Australian Rugby League Commission and hosted by Paul Barclay.