Rio Olympics 2016: Aussie media label their own Olympic team chokers

After New Zealand's medal tally received a significant boost today, Australian media have been quick to criticise their own Olympic team, labelling them chokers.

Australia are currently five places ahead of New Zealand on the medal table, good enough for ninth place with 24 medals - seven gold, eight silver and nine bronze.

The Australian team are just under halfway to the target of 15 or 16 golds set by chef de mission Kitty Chiller.

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However, they are just one gold away from equalling their 2012 gold tally of eight.

Despite this fact, the Australian Associated Press didn't hold back with their critiques.

"There's no nice way to put it. Australians are choking"

"It's happening here, there and everywhere at the Olympic Games.

"As Australian favourites flop, they're leaving a whiff of one of sport's rankest odours - the smell of what couldabeen, what shouldabeen."

The Herald Sun specifically targeted the Australian swimmers.

They wrote "It's fair to say some of the members of the swimming team let us down, and let themselves down,"

"When it really counted they simply weren't able to perform at their peak."

And Fox Sports weren't going to miss the party, all while praising Great Britain's performance.

"As Australia's Olympics are becoming marked by high-profile big misses and failures to deal with pressure, the old enemy is storming ahead," they wrote.

Australia's failures can be traced back to the pool where favourites Cate Campbell and Cam McEvoy both admitted to choking under the pressure, with Campbell calling her effort "possibly the greatest choke in Olympic history".

And it has been nothing but a slippery slope from there.

After today, New Zealand's campaign has been steered back on track. But as for Australia, their road to redemption may be a little tougher.