The race was still young when this episode “Beauty Knows No Pain” aired in April 1981, but Magnum PI took the challenge. He gets the distances and the order a little wrong (he swims, runs then rides), but the spirit is there. The race began in 1978 in Honolulu but moved to Kona in 1981 and a year later the race shifted from February to October. Kailua-Kona Bay became the location for the 4 km swim followed by the 180 km ride and 42.2 km run. (Magnum’s race begins around the 32:00 mark).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSXIipFBkFU