Gretchen Walsh said it was "frustrating" to hear criticism of the American swimming team from retired greats Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte after completing a world butterfly double on Saturday.
The US team at the world championships in Singapore have said that an "overwhelming majority" of the squad, including Walsh, were struck down by acute gastroenteritis at a pre-championships camp in Thailand.
With expectations sky-high back home and Los Angeles hosting the 2028 Olympics, that triggered accusations of poor management in some quarters.
Six-time Olympic gold medallist Ryan Lochte on Friday shared an image on Instagram depicting a funeral that featured a tombstone inscribed: "In loving memory of United States Swimming."
"They set the bar high – until they stopped reaching for it," the inscription says, Lochte adding the caption: "Call it a funeral or call it a fresh start. We've got 3 years."
Phelps, who counts a stunning 23 gold among his 28 Olympic medals, shared Lochte's post, adding: "Is this the wake-up call USA swimming needed?"
The American team still topped the medal table at the start of Saturday's competition and Walsh added more gold when she won the 50m butterfly.
The 22-year-old, who won the 100m butterfly earlier in the week, touched the wall in 24.83sec, beating Australia's Alexandria Perkins (25.31) and Belgium's Roos Vanotterdijk (25.43).
Walsh, who said she felt "fragile" before her 100m butterfly win earlier in the week, hit back at Phelps and Lochte after the race.
"We've been dealing with a lot so it's hard to get the criticism in the first place because I don't think people quite understand the magnitude of everything going on behind the scenes," she said.
"It's frustrating, but I think that I'm personally just trying to block it out and take on the meet with everything I can and just show up and race like I know how."
Walsh said winning races was the best answer to the critics.
"Showing up, giving my best and coming out a world champion twice now has been everything," she said.
"I'm happy to keep doing it and happy that I'm feeling like myself in the water again."